Microbiological Quality of Meat at the Abattoir and Butchery Levels in Kampala City, Uganda

Contaminated meat has been implicated in many cases of foodborne illnesses. The study assessed microbiological quality of meat at abattoir and butchery levels. Forty eight meat samples were collected and microbiologically examined in the laboratory. Samples were 100%, 97.9%, 93.8%, 83.3% and 4.2% positive for APCs, S. aureus, coliforms, E. coli and Salmonella respectively. Mean APCs were 1.64x109cfu/g for abattoir and 1.92x109cfu/g for butcheries. Coliform, E. coli and S. aureus counts were 5.0x102cfu/g, 8.4x104cfu/g and 2.7x103cfu/g at the abattoir level. Coliform, E. coli and S. aureus counts were 4.98x106cfu/g, 1.06x105cfu/g and 5.4x105cfu/g at the butchery level. Mean APCs were 3.95x109cfu/g, 1.10x109cfu/g and 7.02x109cfu/g for Wandegeya, Nakulabye and Kasubi butcheries respectively, and 1.90x109cfu/g for morning and 1.77x109cfu/g for evening. S. aureus counts were 1.86x105cfu/g for morning and 7.71x105cfu/g for evening. Overall, E.coli, S. aureus, coliforms and APCs were higher than conventionally accepted levels indicating that meat was contaminated. More stringent inspection, regular supervision and monitoring besides good hygiene practices are recommended for meat processing facilities.