Yersinia enterocolitica infections impose a significant public health and socioeconomic burden on human population in many countries. The current study investigated the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance profile and molecular diversity of Y. enterocolitica in meat and meat products across various retail outlets in selected provinces of South Africa (SA). In a cross-sectional study, a total of 581 retail meat and meat products were collected from four cities across three provinces of SA. Samples were from beef and pork products, which included 292 raw intact, 167 raw processed, and 122 ready-to-eat (RTE) meats. Samples were analysed using classical microbiological methods for isolation, identification and biotyping of Y. enterocolitica. Conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed for confirmation, serotyping, screening of virulence (n = 11) and antimicrobial resistance (n = 18) genes. Phenotypic antimicrobial resistance profiles were determined against 12 antibiotics discs, using disc diffusion method. The overall prevalence of 12% (70/581) was reported across all cities with contamination proportion reported in samples collected from raw intact 15% (43/292), followed by raw processed 11% (18/167) and RTE meats 7% (9/122). All positive isolates were of biotype 1A with 7% (5/70) belonging to bioserotype 1A/O:8. Most of the isolates harboured ymoA, ystB, fepD, ail, fepA, invA and myfA virulence genes. High antimicrobial resistance frequency was observed for ampicillin (94%), cephalothin (83%) and amoxicillin (41%), respectively. Of the 18 tested antimicrobial resistance genes, blaTEM was the most predominant (40%) followed by cmlA (21%). This study reveals the presence of antimicrobial resistant Y. enterocolitica possessing virulent genes of public health importance in products of animal origin, therefore, health monitoring and surveillance of this pathogen is required.

Bacterial contamination has been proven to be common in a variety of foods, especially meats. For this reason, this study was conducted to evaluate the bacteriological quality of imported chilled meat traded in Port-Said markets where 64 random samples of chilled meats represented by 28 imported chilled beef meat samples from lots arrived at Port-Said port (un-marketed) and 36 imported chilled beef meat samples collected from retailed markets at Port-Said governorate (marketed). Samples were analyzed for their total aerobic count., Enterobacteriaceae count, E. coli, total staphylococcus, and S. aureus counts and detection of salmonellae. The total bacterial count recorded an average of 10.73x104 and 2.5x106 in un-marketed and marketed chilled meat respectively. The results showed that 18 out of 64 meat samples were positive for Enterobacteriaceae and 6 samples out of them were unaccepted for human consumption. The incidence of E. coli was in 6 samples from the examined chilled samples, and the 6 were unaccepted. For staphylococcus, there were 24 positive samples, and 13 out of them were unaccepted and for S. aureus, 4 samples out of 64 samples were positive and 4 samples were unaccepted for consumption. Two samples out of 64 were positive for salmonella and considered unfit for human consumption. The obtained results confirmed the poor bacteriological quality of some imported chilled meat that is marketed in Port-Said retailed markets which is related to unhygienic transportation methods until reach the retailed markets.

The sheep meat production system contributes to the economy of sheep farmers to a greater extent. Considering the value of sheep meat, several researchers have attempted strategically to study various domains of sheep meat production and its marketing. The research on mutton production was mainly oriented to lean meat and fatty acid profile. Sheep meat marketing research has covered aspects of consumer demand and education. Studies reveal that the industrial meat production system in sheep contributes more water foot print. Researchers have also assessed the greenhouse gas emission of sheep meat production. Sheep carcass quality studies evaluated the effects of gender, production systems, body weight, age, hot and cold carcass. Sheep meat quality studies were majorly focused on the amino acid, fatty acid profiles, and sensory characteristics. Sheep meat flavor was thoroughly researched by a few investigators. The microbial profile of sheep carcass and meat indicated various microbial contaminants in the supply chain. Several antioxidants were used by researchers for improving the quality of meat and meat products. Antimicrobials such as metal oxides and essential oils were evaluated for effective sheep meat preservation. The heavy metal contaminants in sheep were also investigated by a few researchers. Different DNA and radioisotope methods have been explored for species and sex differentiation in sheep meat and meat products. The sheep meat products were assessed by researchers for various technological, nutritional, and sensory characteristics. The economic value of sheep meat by-products was calculated by researchers for their potential importance in the value chain. Parasitic meat borne diseases were found as the common zoonotic problem with sheep meat. The export potential of sheep meat and bottlenecks have also been studied by a few researchers. Overall, the broad dimensions of sheep meat research worldwide has a profound link with the economy of the nations.

Sarcocystis spp. is cyst forming protozoa that contains more than 200 species and belong to the phylum Apicomplexa. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in buffalo and sheep carcasses slaughtered in Egypt macroscopically and microscopically. For this purpose, a total of 400 buffalo and sheep carcasses were examined at Tanta abattoir, Egypt for the detection of Sarcocystis spp. from July 2020 to June 2021. The results revealed that the prevalence of macroscopic sarcocysts was 26.5% in slaughtered buffaloes and 0% in slaughtered sheep, while the prevalence of microscopic sarcocysts was 56% in slaughtered buffaloes and 80.5% in slaughtered sheep. The prevalence of sarcocysts in old buffaloes and sheep was higher than in young buffaloes and sheep. The most affected organs with microscopic sarcocysts were the oesophagus followed by the tongue, masseter muscle, skeletal muscles and finally heart. The obtained results confirmed that the examined buffaloes and sheep are infected with Sarcocystis species due to the abundance of final hosts, especially dogs and cats that encourage the spreading of infection by this protozoan parasite. Therefore, efficient cooking of buffalo meat is highly recommended before serving to humans.