Genotyping and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Clostridium perfringens and Clostridioides difficile in Camel Minced Meat

The present study aimed to determine the occurrence, genotypes, and antimicrobial resistance of Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) and Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) in camel minced meat samples collected from small butcher shops and supermarkets in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Saudi Arabia. A total of 100 camel minced meat samples were randomly collected from small butcher’s shops (n = 50) and supermarkets (n = 50) in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Saudi Arabia. C. perfringens and C. difficile were isolated and identified using the VITEK-2 compact system and 16S rRNA gene amplification. Genotypes, toxin genes, and antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates were determined. Moreover, ELISA was used to detect C. perfringens and C. difficile toxins. C. perfringens and C. difficile were isolated from 14% and 4% of the tested minced meat samples, respectively. Out of the 14 C. perfringens isolates, type A (64.3%), type B (7.1%), type C (21.5%), and type D (7.1%) were detected. However, out of the four C. difficile isolates, three (75%) were type A+B+ and one (25%) was type A−B+. None of the C. perfringens or C. difficile toxins were identified using ELISA. C. perfringens and C. difficile isolates exhibited a high rate of resistance to tetracycline (56% and 75%, respectively). However, all isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanate. Multidrug resistance was observed in three (21.4%) C. perfringens and one (25%) C. difficile isolates. In conclusion, camel minced meat was contaminated with C. perfringens and C. difficile, which present a potential risk of food poisoning. The majority of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, and some isolates were multidrug-resistant. Therefore, food safety standards and frequent inspections of abattoirs, small butcher shops, and supermarkets should be enforced.

Community Composition of Bacteria Isolated from Swiss Banknotes Varies Depending on Collection Environment

Humans interact constantly with surfaces and associated microbial communities in the environment. The factors shaping the composition of these communities are poorly understood: some proposed explanations emphasize the influence of local habitat conditions (niche-based explanations), while others point to geographic structure and the distance among sampled locations (dispersal-based explanations). However, the relative roles of these different drivers for microbial community assembly on human-associated surfaces are not clear. Here, we used a combination of sampling, sequencing (16S rRNA) and culturing to show that the composition of banknote-associated bacterial communities varies depending on the local collection environment. Using banknotes collected from various locations and types of shops across Switzerland, we found taxonomic diversity dominated by families such as Pseudomonadaceae, Staphylococcaceae and Streptococcaceae, but with banknote samples from particular types of shops (especially butcher shops) having distinct community structure. By contrast, we found no evidence of geographic structure: similarity of community composition did not decrease with increasing distance among sampled locations. These results show that microbial communities associated with banknotes, one of the most commonly encountered and exchanged human-associated surfaces, can reflect the local environmental conditions (in this case, the type of shop), and the signal for this type of variation was stronger than that for geographic structure among the locations sampled here.

How do food businesses provide information on allergens in non-prepacked foods? A cross-sectional survey in Switzerland

Summary Purpose This project aimed to investigate allergen information practices of food businesses selling non-prepacked foods after the implementation of the new Swiss food law in May 2017. Methods A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted with food businesses selling non-prepacked foods in Switzerland. A short, standardised questionnaire was developed in German, based on previous research and literature. It was subsequently translated into French and Italian. Altogether, 882 businesses (restaurants, dairies, butcher shops and bakeries) were contacted, of which 387 were willing to participate. SPSS® (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) was used for statistical analyses. Results The vast majority (86.0%) of food businesses provides oral allergen information. Only 14.0% currently provide written allergen information to the customer, either upfront or on request. The most frequently used labelling system in written allergen declaration was naming all ingredients (35.2%). A significant number (39.8%) do not place a notice on how to obtain allergen information, although this is a legal requirement in Switzerland when not providing written information upfront. Conclusion So far, not all food businesses have been complying with the new Swiss food law on allergen information of non-prepacked food. Therefore, awareness of the legal obligations around communicating allergen information as well as the verification of its implementation should be enhanced. To meet the needs of consumers and avoid reactions, some form of written allergen information should be promoted. Giving this information on request might encourage communication between customer and staff, thus providing an extra measure of verification.

Analysis of Food Safety Management Systems in the Beef Meat Processing and Distribution Chain in Uganda

Meat production is an essential component in food security and the economy in Uganda. However, food safety concerns pose a challenge to public health in Uganda and impede access to regional and global markets. Here, food safety management (FSM) practices in the Ugandan beef supply chain were evaluated. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in major slaughterhouses (n = 3), butcher shops (n = 184), and supermarkets (n = 25) in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. The three slaughterhouses had low scores in core control and assurance activities of FSM. Packaging interventions were weak in all the slaughterhouses, while only one slaughterhouse had a functional cooling facility. Supermarkets implemented better hygienic and preventative practices in comparison to butcher shops. However, both sourced from slaughterhouses that had low-to-poor hygiene practices, which weakened the efforts implemented in the supermarkets. Furthermore, most butcher shops did not offer training to meat handlers on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point)-based practices. The low food safety performance in the supply chain was primarily attributed to poor sanitation, hygiene, and handling practices. Therefore, HACCP-based training and robust preventive, intervention, and monitoring systems are needed in the Ugandan beef supply chain to benefit public health and increase competitiveness.

Microbiological Quality of Meat and Swabs from Contact Surface in Butcher Shops in Debre Berhan, Ethiopia

Food-borne pathogens are the primary source of infection in developing countries. The widespread practice of raw beef consumption was a potential cause of food-borne diseases in Ethiopia. Hence, this study was initiated to assess the microbiological quality of fresh meat samples from butcher shops in Debre Berhan. Fresh meat samples and swab samples from contact surfaces were collected from butcher shops for microbial analysis, following standard methods. The study revealed that the mean microbial counts of morning samples for total aerobic mesophilic, Staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliform, fecal coliform, aerobic spore formers, and yeasts and molds of the butcher shops were 5.31, 4.24, 4.47, 4.79, 4.74, 3.77, and 5.0 log cfu/g, respectively. The mean microbial counts from the afternoon sample for total aerobic mesophilic, Staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliform, fecal coliform, aerobic spore formers, and yeasts and molds of the butcher shops were 5.47, 4.78, 4.84, 4.88, 4.94, 5.15, and 5.07 log cfu/g, respectively. A higher microbial load was found from the meat sample collected in the afternoon. The mean microbial counts of total aerobic mesophilic, Staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliform, fecal coliform, aerobic spore formers, and yeasts and molds from swabs of the contact surface were 4.17, 3.98, 4.08, 3.96, 3.86, 3.80, and 3.92 log cfu/cm2, respectively. Further characterization of the aerobic mesophilic flora indicated a dominance by Enterobacteriaceae (36%) followed by Staphylococci spp. (24%) and Bacillus spp. (19%). The prevalence of S. aureus, E. coli, and Salmonella in meat and swab samples was 37.5%, 32.5%, and 7.5%, respectively. In this study, it was observed that all samples collected from butcher shops detected a significant count of spoilage microbes. Hence, adequate sanitary measures should be taken from production to consumption stages.

Microbiological Contamination in Different Food Service Units Associated with Food Handling

Background: A microbiological analysis of samples taken from hands of food handlers and utensils/crockery in food service units was used to assess the risk of food contamination. We aimed to assess indicators of microbiological contamination in different food service units. Methods: We used data for an official inspection proposal (2018–2019) in different food service units serving a district in Northeast Portugal. We showed the proportion of positive samples for each microorganism assessed in samples taken from hands and kitchen utensils/crockery. Results: Out of 471 samples taken from hands of food handlers, 26.8% (n = 126) were classified as “unsatisfactory” due to the presence of at least Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and/or total and fecal coliforms. Such a proportion varied according to the type of food service unit with a higher proportion being observed in Canteens (40.0%) and in Retirement Home/Day Care Centers (37.8%). More than one third of 649 samples taken from kitchen utensils/crockery were classified as “unsatisfactory” (n = 181; 27.9%) or “bad” (n = 49; 7.6%). There were significant differences in these proportions across food service units, with a higher proportion of “unsatisfactory” samples being observed in Fishmongers and Butcher Shops/Charcuteries (50.0% and 45.1%, respectively), while a higher proportion of “bad” samples was observed in both Pastry/Bakery and Fishmonger establishments (33.3%), followed by Butcher Shops/Charcuteries (14.1%). Conclusions: Our results emphasize the need of awareness of hygiene practices among food handlers of different food service units, particularly in Fishmongers, Pastry/Bakery establishments and Butcher Shops/Charcuteries, highlighting the need of a periodic hygienic evaluation.

Identification of bacteriological quality and antimicrobial resistance of microorganisms isolated from animal foods collected from the abattoir, butcher shops and local seafood market

The current study aimed to isolate bacteria that harbour various animal food products like meat, chicken and seafoods collected from the abattoir, butcher shops and local seafood market and to determine the antimicrobial resistance pattern of isolated pathogens which are responsible for various foodborne illnesses in human beings. A total of forty raw animal product samples were collected from the abattoir, butcher shops and local seafood market of Visakhapatnam. The samples selected for the study include raw chicken, meat, crab, prawns and different varieties of fish. A classic random sampling technique was employed to collect the study samples. All the samples were processed immediately using standard microbiological protocols. The bacteria isolation and characterization were done by studying morphological characteristics with staining methods, cultural characteristics by isolating and growing the pathogenic microorganisms in various selective and differential culture media. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by the Kirby -Bauer method by following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. EDTA-Disc Potentiation Test and Imipenem-EDTA Double disc synergy test are used to detect the metallo beta-lactamase production of isolated pathogens. The highest number of isolates belong to Salmonella species (18), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18) followed by Vibrio species (14) and few isolates belong to Enterobacter species (4). Majority of the microbial isolates obtained in the current study were multidrug resistant. The isolates from the abattoir environments, slaughterhouses, fish markets were found to exhibit variable resistance pattern to aminoglycosides, macrolides, β-lactams, cephalosporins, quinolone antibiotics used in the present study and at the same time most of them were sensitive to carbapenem antibiotic imipenem. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) prevents the designing and assessment of effective interventions. If such a link can be established, then the tracking of antibiotic use and consumption data could be furthermore used as a surrogate indicator for the risk of potential antibiotic resistance (ABR) emergence.

Evaluation of Bacterial Load and Antibiotic Resistance Pattern of Staphylococcus aureus from Ready-to-Eat Raw Beef in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia

Background. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important causes of food-borne intoxication and the most frequent antibiotic-resistant pathogen in the world. Regular evaluation of the current safety status of food is a proactive measure to minimize the possible danger of food-borne pathogens. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the bacterial load and antibiotic resistance profile of S. aureus from ready-to-eat raw beef in Bahir Dar city, Ethiopia. Methodology. This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2018 to April 2019 by collecting a total of 101 raw beef samples from butcher shops using a simple random sampling method. Isolation and microbial load determination of S. aureus use were performed by conventional culture method and an antibiotic susceptibility test was conducted by using Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method on the Mueller–Hinton agar. The data were analyzed by using STATA software version 12.0. Result. Out of 101 raw beef samples, 55 (54.45%) were positive for S. aureus with a mean bacterial count of 3.40 ± 0.63 (log10 cfu/g). About 13% of butcher shops had unacceptable and potentially dangerous (above 104 cfu/g) bacterial load. High S. aureus drug resistance was observed on penicillin (92.73%) followed by cefoxitin (74.5%), tetracycline (63.63%), and clindamycin (50.9%). On the other hand, there was the highest susceptibility for ciprofloxacin (100%) followed by gentamycin (90.91%) and erythromycin (87.27%). Multidrug resistance was also found in 54 (98%) of the isolates. Conclusion. In this study highly drug-resistant S. aureus was incriminated as the main meat contaminant in butcheries of Bahir Dar city. Therefore, appropriate antimicrobial use and staphylococcal control methods should be employed to prevent S. aureus intoxications in foods.