Análise microbiológica da carne moída comercializada no município de Rondonópolis

Abstract

Due to varied nutritional composition, high water activity and pH close to neutrality, the meat becomes an excellent medium for microorganism proliferation, been able to cause economic damage and affect the health of consumers. Ground beef offers a higher risk of contamination, since it has a larger contact surface and undergoes greater manipulation. Thus, this article aimed to evaluate the influence of the purchase time on the microbiological quality of ground beef marketed in different butchers in the municipality of Rondonópolis. Meat was obtained in fresh form from 4 butcheries (A, B, C and D) of the municipality, 2 samples were taken per establishment at different times: one sample in the early morning (7 am to 8 pm) and one sample in the early afternoon (1 pm to 2 pm), totaling 8 samples. The microbiological analyzes performed were the mesophiles count, most probable number (MPN) of total and fecal coliforms, which is a way to estimate the amount of microorganisms present in the sample, and identification of Escherichia coli colonies. Of the 8 samples analyzed, only the butchery D afternoon did not show the maximum total coliform count by the MPN method, whereas for fecal coliforms, the maximum value was observed only in samples from establishment C. Fecal coliforms and total bacterial count (TBC) were influenced by the time of purchase, showing variation in each butcheries. E. coli contamination was verified in the afternoon sample from butchery A and the morning sample from butchery C. Purchase time influences the microbiological quality of ground beef, but there is no fixed standard due to the large variability in the handling used by each butchery.