Microbial assessment of an upward and downward dehiding technique in a commercial beef processing plant

Thomas G Kennedy; Efstathios S Giotis; Aideen I McKevitt

doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.03.009

Microbial assessment of an upward and downward dehiding technique in a commercial beef processing plant

Meat Sci. 2014 Aug;97(4):486-9. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.03.009. Epub 2014 Mar 24.

Authors

Thomas G Kennedy¹, Efstathios S Giotis², Aideen I McKevitt³

Affiliations

¹ Veterinary Public Health Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Agriculture House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, Ireland; NICHE, School of Biomedical Science, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland; School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
² NICHE, School of Biomedical Science, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland; School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland. Electronic address: e.giotis@imperial.ac.uk.
³ NICHE, School of Biomedical Science, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland; School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.

PMID: 24769148
DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.03.009

Abstract

Preventing microbial contamination during dehiding is challenging, and skinning methods are of critical importance for the hygienic status of beef carcasses. Two skinning methods are usually employed: upward hide pulling (UHP) and downward hide pulling (DHP). This study has compared the microbiological contamination of carcasses using both systems in a beef processing plant in the process of changing its dehiding method from UHP to DHP. 100 cm(2) areas from eight carcass sites (ham, chuck, rump, bung, flank, brisket, shin and neck) were sampled on 36 skinned carcasses dehided by each technique. Total viable counts (TVCs) and Enterobacteriaceae counts for each site were determined. No significant differences were observed in total (pooled-samples) carcass contamination regardless of the method used. However, significant differences (p<0.05) in TVCs were observed at the flank, shin, brisket and neck. These differences can be attributed to possible deficiencies in the implementation of the HACCP pre-requisite programmes, and are not necessarily associated with the skinning method per se.

Keywords: Beef carcass; Food safety; Microbial contamination; Upward and downward hide puller.

MeSH terms

Abattoirs*
Animals
Cattle
Colony Count, Microbial
Diet
Enterobacteriaceae*
Food Handling / methods*
Food Microbiology*
Humans
Meat / microbiology*
Skin / microbiology*