Efficacy of Using Lactic Acid and Beefxide to Reduce Pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella spp. on Beef Carcasses in Mosul Slaughterhouse, Iraq

Meat contamination occurs in a variety of ways, the most significant of which include live animals prior to slaughter (infected animals), workers and tools used in the slaughter process, and post-slaughter activities to prepare the carcasses (removing the skin and viscera). Raw meat remains the primary source of many diseases caused by microbes that are transmitted to humans, especially those that cause food poisoning, such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., which are considered among the most important health problems facing the world. Therefore, we decided to study the efficiency of using some organic acids (lactic acid and beefxide) to reduce the number of pathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., on the surfaces of beef carcasses in the slaughterhouse of Mosul city. Eighty samples (beef carcass sponge swabs) were collected over the course of three months between September 13, 2023, and December 11, 2023, using culture method and polymerase chain reaction. Our findings of pathogenic bacteria including Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, showed the presence of 4 isolates out of 40 carcass samples (4/40: 10%); all were isolated from the sample's prior treatment with organic acids, 3 of which possessed the stx1 gene and one isolate had the stx2 gene. The study also revealed that there were only two isolates of Salmonella spp. (2/40: 5%) in beef carcasses that possessed the invA gene and these are samples that have not been treated with organic acids. This study concludes the effectiveness of lactic acid and beefxide solutions in removing pathogenic bacteria such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and Salmonella spp. from beef carcasses.