Assessment of Bacteriological Quality and Safety of Raw Meat at Slaughterhouse and Butchers’ shop (Retail outlets) in Assosa town, Beneshangul Gumuz Regional State, Western Ethiopia
Authors: Mola Mohammed Tesfaye , Getu Asmamaw Abat 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Meat and meat products provide excellent growth media for microbes and it becomes contaminated with a variety of microorganisms during the slaughtering and dressing process and some of which are pathogens. Contaminated meat has been implicated in many cases of foodborne illness and possessing serious challenges in developing countries. So, the objectives of this study was to count, isolate and identify different pathogens & indicators in beef samples at Abattoir and Retail outlets as well as to assess the handling practices and knowledge of Butchers and Slaughter workers in Assosa town. A cross-sectional experimental study was done on a total of 70 samples of raw meat (beef); 35 samples from butchers’ shops in different areas of the town and 35 samples at an Abattoir between May 2018 and February 2019. The enumeration and isolation of pathogenic and indicator microbes were conducted based on standard methods. All of the microbial data were organized and analyzed through SPSS 20 and Excel through tables and graphs. Mean bacterial counts in beef samples were compared by ANOVA and independent t-test if there is a significant difference. Significance of differences held at p < 0.05. The finding showed that the mean of Aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) and S. aureus at retail outlets was 5.04 log10cfu/g and 3.84 log10cfu/g; 4.03 log10cfu/g and 3.5 log10cfu/g at abattoir, respectively. Out of 70 raw meat analyzed samples, the microbial count range of AMB at the Butchers shop and Abattoir was 2.75-7.52 log10 cfu/g and 2.49-5.16 log10 cfu/g, respectively. Similarly, the microbial count range of S. aureus at the Butchers shop and Abattoir was 2.74 - 4.84 log10 cfu/g and 2.71-4.72 log10 cfu/g, respectively. 13(37.1%) at Abattoir and 17 (48.6%) at the Retail outlets were positive and contaminated to E.coli whereas 9(25.7%) and 12(34.3%) of the sample at the Abattoir and retail outlet, respectively, were contaminated with Salmonella sp. Coliforms were not detected in 11(31.4%) and 5(14.3%) of the samples at Abattoir and retail outlets, respectively. Only 13 (38.71%) and 6 (17.14%) of the samples at the Abattoir and Retail outlets, respectively were satisfactory for S. aureus. While 80% of Abattoirs and 57.7% of Butchers shop of the analyzed samples were satisfactory for AMB. The handling and environmental hygiene of butchers in Assosa town showed that 27 (77.1%) and 29 (82.9%) of the meat contact surface and the carcass; were unprotected and easily exposed to flies, respectively. On the other hand, only 2 (5.7%), 10 (28.6%), and 8 (22.9%) of the butchers kept the carcass in the refrigerator, and wore gowns and hairnets, respectively. Only 2(12.5%) and 3(18.8%) of the workers in the slaughterhouse had taken training on food hygiene (safety) and wore hand gloves during slaughtering, respectively. The majority of the respondents (87.5%) in slaughterhouses agree that there were some difficulties to achieve slaughtering in the working area due to shortage of water, narrowed working area, shortage of work-related materials (hand gloves, hair nets, gowns, toilet), and insufficient light. Therefore, the town administration office and other concerned bodies should fulfill the aforementioned materials & facilities and; educate both butchers and slaughtering workers on sanitation, personal hygiene, and handling of raw meat.