ABSTRACT

The incidence and sources ofmicrobial contamination of fresh meat processed and sold in Uyo were investigated. The samples studied for processing, 90 swabs samples from abattoir floor, walls, slabs, operator’s tables, hands, knives, and!80 fresh meat samples from retailers. The mean values of the water sample 8.3 and 3.7 and 3.4 x 103 cfu/ml. A total of 167 isolates of various bacteria were isolated from the meat samples consisting of S. aureus; 42 isolates (25.1%). E. coll; 34 (20.4%), Staphylococcus epidermidis; 16 (9.6%), Micrococcus various; 16 (9.6%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa; 25 (15.0%) and Bacillus cereus; 12 (7.2%) the slaughter area was most contaminated with the number of aerobic plate count, cfu/ml respectively. The antibiotic sensitivity of the 42 strains of S. aureus isolated showed 95.6% were sensitive to ofloxacin and ciproilex while the highest resistance was observed for gentamycin 70.6%. The study reveals that fresh meat samples can be contaminated by microbial pathogens and the water, processing equipment, abattoir and personnel presenting the critical control points (CCP) ix species. Swab results from the meat contact surfaces revealed that the drains within were 30 water samples used were aerobic colony, coliform and Staphylococcal counts of 104 are potential sources of contamination thus while fungal species identified were Fusarium, Penicillium and Aspergillus Swab results from the meat contact surfaces revealed that the drains within the slaughter area was most contaminated with the number of aerobic plate count, coliform and Staphylococcal counts of 2.85, 1.38 and 1.42 x10⁴ cfu/ml respectively. The antibiotic sensitivity of the 42 strains of S. aureus isolated showed 95.6% were sensitive to ofloxacin and ciproilex while the highest resistance was observed for gentamycin 70.6%. The study reveals that fresh meat samples can be contaminated by microbial pathogens and the water, processing equipment, abattoir and personnel presenting the critical control points (CCP)