Microbiological quality of Australian beef

Area of Science:

• Food microbiology
• Food safety
• Australian meat industry

Background:

• Microbiological quality is crucial for beef safety and shelf-life.
• Previous baseline studies in Australia provide a reference point for current quality assessments.
• Understanding variations in microbial load across different production scales and markets is essential for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey the microbiological quality of Australian beef carcasses and boneless beef in 1998.
• To compare microbial loads and pathogen prevalence between export and domestic markets, including very small plants.
• To assess changes in microbiological quality compared to a 1993-1994 baseline study.

Main Methods:

• Sponge sampling of 1,275 beef carcasses and drilling of 990 boneless beef samples.
• Collection of samples from export, domestic, and very small Australian meat establishments.
• Microbiological analysis for total viable counts (TVCs), Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococci, Salmonella, and E. coli O157:H7.

Main Results:

• Mean log TVCs were 2.42/cm2 for carcasses and 2.52/g for boneless beef.
• Escherichia coli detected on 10.3% of carcasses, coagulase-positive staphylococci on 24.3%.
• Salmonella detected on 0.2% of carcasses, E. coli O157:H7 on 0.1%; prevalence did not differ significantly by establishment type.
• Lower mean log TVCs on export carcasses (2.20) compared to domestic (2.61) and very small plants (3.10).

Conclusions:

• Small but significant improvements in microbiological criteria for beef carcasses and boneless meat were observed compared to the 1993-1994 study.
• Establishment type significantly impacted TVCs, with export establishments showing lower counts.
• While specific pathogen prevalence did not vary by establishment type, ongoing monitoring remains critical for public health protection.