Microbiological quality the offal and salted meat commercialized in Botucatu

• Grant number: 13/08254-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2013
• End date: December 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Vera Lúcia Mores Rall
• Grantee: Bruna Fernanda Rossi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

An important public health problem that has been gaining attention due to the high frequency of occurrence are foodborne diseases. According to the World Health Organization, thousands of people die each year due to ingestion of food contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms. Such contamination can occur during handling due to the lack of hygiene of the environment, utensils and hands of food handlers, besides the inadequate storage. Meat and meat products are among the main foods involved in foodborne illness. Besides external contamination, it can also occur by many pathogens that belong to natural microbiota of meat animals such as cattle, pork and poultry. The meat being the main source of protein and considering that a large portion of the population living on a low income, the cattle and pork offal, and poultry giblets become a good alternative because they present low cost and with a high protein value. The salted meat, for being part of Brazilian culture especially in some parts of the country, is also widely consumed. However, for the production of such meat is required extensive handling due to salting and drying, which may end up causing contamination. Therefore, this project proposes the hygienic-sanitary evaluation of offal and giblets of bovine, swine and poultry origin, and salted meats, often not marketed in specific packaging. Thus, will be collected 70 samples of these foods in butchers and supermarkets in the city of Botucatu. Will be evaluated the hygienic-sanitary quality by determining the most probable number of thermotolerant coliforms, besides the research of Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella. The isolates collected from S. aureus will be screened for the presence of classical enterotoxin-producing genes (sea and sed), and strains that show these genes will be tested for in vitro production of these enterotoxins by the technique of RPLA. The results will be passed on to those responsible for the commercial establishments. (AU)