In 2015 in the European Union member states listeriosis caused 270 deaths. Food is the route of transmission in 99% of all human infection cases. Several studies from different countries have shown that the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in food can be as high as 58.3%. One of the most important ways to protect food from these microorganisms is to prevent the spread of the bacteria at processing plants at different stages of food production chain. The ability of L. monocytogenes to survive in extreme conditions and to form biofilms on various surfaces is a significant challenge for food safety. Removal of these bacteria from niches in processing plants is difficult and requires the use of sanitisers and precise equipment cleaning. The presence of L. monocytogenes in processing environment at slaughterhouses, deli meat factories or in retail may be a reason of cross-contamination. Proper hygienic systems applied by workers in food preparing places and knowledge about different routes of spreading of these bacteria may effectively decrease the risk of food contamination. Standardised legal regulations and control of meat product manufacture should be a fundamental way to protect food from L. monocytogenes contamination.

Objective: The identification of meat species in meat products is important for protection of human health, economic reasons, religious factors and for controlling the compliance with food regulations. For this purpose, DNA must be obtained in good quality and quantity. The aim of this study was to compare different DNA isolation methods from different meat products.Materials and methods: Comparison among different DNA isolation methods was done. DNA was isolated from different meat products (e.g., sucuk, salami, sausage, braised meet, meatball and pastrami). The methods included phenol/chloroform, DNA isolation kit, Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) and Dodecyle Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (DTAB).Results: Although DNA was obtained from all of these methods, the phenol/chloroform and DNA isolation kit methods were found to be the most effective methods for obtaining high quantity DNA. RNA contamination was determined to be common in DTAB method. High quantity of DNA and RNA contamination in terms of quality was detected in CTAB method. Ruminant specific 16S rRNA primer was used to amplify genomic DNA by polymerase chain reaction and all samples were amplified except for some samples of DTAB.Conclusion: DNA isolation kit, another best method, is recommended due to quality and quantity of DNA for researchers who do not want that phenol/chloroform method have toxic substances. This study is also the first study in which DTAB method is used for DNA extraction from meat products. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2016; 3(4.000): 368-374]

Meat-based food such as meatball and sausages are important sources of protein needed for the human body. Due to different prices, some unethical producers try to adulterate high-price meat such as beef with lower priced meat like pork and rat meat to gain economical profits, therefore, reliable and fast analytical techniques should be developed, validated, and applied for meat traceability and authenticity. Some instrumental techniques have been applied for the detection of meat adulteration, mainly relied on DNA and protein using polymerase chain reaction and chromatographic methods, respectively. But, this method is time-consuming, needs a sophisticated instrument, involves complex sample preparation which make the method is not suitable for routine analysis. As a consequence, a simpler method based on spectroscopic principles should be continuously developed. Food samples are sometimes complex which resulted in complex chemical responses. Fortunately, a statistical method called with chemometrics could solve the problems related to complex chemical data. This mini-review highlights the application of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy coupled with numerous chemometrics techniques for authenticity and traceability of meat and meat-based products. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2019; 6(1.000): 9-17]

Ensuring food safety and strict hygienic practices adopted across the meat industry's whole supply chain is a primary responsibility of the food safety sector. Monitoring the sanitary status of the retailed meat products is necessary to complete this task. Meat products including luncheon, sausage, burger, and minced meat retailed in Sharkia governorate, Egypt, were evaluated for hygiene indicators such as total bacterial counts (TBC), total coliforms counts (TCC), total Staphylococcus aureus (TSC), and total mold counts (TMC). Furthermore, isolation of some pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella spp., and Listeria spp., was done. The results showed varying rates of microbial contamination in the examined meat products. Minced meat was generally the most contaminated with microorganisms. Salmonella spp., and Listeria spp., were isolated from the examined samples at varying rates. In conclusion, to produce meat products of excellent keeping quality, it is strongly advised to follow stringent hygiene procedures when handling meat from the time of slaughter and though out all manufacture process

Beef, mutton, lamb, and camel are all high-quality protein sources in Egypt and around the world. Red meat with a protein content of about 20%, a high moisture content (75%), fat (5.2%), carbohydrate (1.5%), vitamins such as vitamin B complex, and minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium, and phosphorus are important in human nutrition because they can meet a portion of man's daily needs for these nutrients. Low temperature storage of meat either at chilling or freezing conditions is very popular worldwide for the purposes of meat security, meat transportation, and overseas trade. However, the microbial quality of the meat at low temperature storage represents a challenging task for both the food safety and public health sectors.  This review threw the light on the microbial status of chilled and frozen meat with a particular focus on the contamination of meat with Pseudomonas spp.

The emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica along the food chain has posed a public health concern worldwide. In the current study 180 samples of sausage, beef burger, cattle minced meat, buffalo minced meat, luncheon, and hot dog 30 of each type were chosen at random from supermarkets and butcher shops in Egypt's EL-Sharkia Governorate. The aerobic plate count (APC) mean values were 5.58± 0.26, 6.28 ± 0.35, 6.36 ± 0.45, 6.23 ± 0.41, 3.22± 0.28 and 3.08 ± 0.22 log10 CFU/g in examined sausage, beef burger, cattle minced meat, buffalo minced meat, luncheon and hot dog, respectively. The Salmonella detected in was 3/30 (10%), 5/30(16.66%), 6/30(20%), 5/30(16.66%) and 1/30(3.33%) in examined sausage, beef burger, cattle minced meat, buffalo minced meat, and luncheon respectively. The S. Typhi was the predominant among isolates (30%) followed by S. Kentucky (20%) then S. Typhimurium (15%) and finally S. Anatum (10%). The resistance was 100% for ampicillin, 80% for Kanamycin, 65% for erythromycin, 60% for amoxicillin and penicillin, and 55% for sulfamethoxazole. On the other hand, the sensitivity was 90% for gentamycin, 85% for norfloxacin, 75% for ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol. To reduce the risk of Salmonella infection in the consumer population, a food safety program should be implemented during the processing of meat products.

From several stores and butchers in Mansoura city, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt, 120 samples of sausage, beef burger, minced meat, luncheon, hot dog and canned meat were collected (20 each). The samples examined for detection of total mould count and identification if mould into genera and species in addition to quantification of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2. Mould detected in 100% of all examined raw meat products meanwhile, detected in 25%, 30% and 15% of examined luncheon, hotdog, and canned meat, respectively. Heat treated meat products significantly (P<0.05) contained lower mould count than raw meat products.  Eight mould genera detected in all examined meat products with varying percentages in descending order Aspergillus > Penicillium > Cladosporium > Sporotricum > Alternaria > Mucor > Fusarium > Curvularia . The mean values of aflatoxin B1 were 0.78±0.21, 1.1±0. 55, 1.54±0.40, 0.052±0.032, 2.21±0.87 and 1.88±0.41 µg/kg in sausage, beef burger, minced meat, luncheon, hot dog and canned meat, respectively. Minced meat significantly lower than other examined meat products in level of aflatoxin B1(P< 0.05). Aflatoxin B2 and G2 not detected in all examined samples. The aflatoxin G1 detected in two samples of beef burger with a mean value 1.15±0.065 µg/kg and in one sample of canned meat 0.62 µg/kg. A food safety management system as hazard analysis and critical control points should be adopted by meat producers in order to protect human health.

Meat products are essential sources of high quality animal protein, essential amino acids, and trace elements such as copper, zinc, and iron, and vitamins such as vitamin B group. However, meat products can be exposed to contamination with several xenobiotics including heavy metals. Several species of the heavy metal group have no physiological functions and their intake via contaminated food and water is associated with several adverse health effects that might reach to even death. In this review, we will throw the light on the occurrence of heavy metals and the sources of contamination of the meat products with these chemicals. Moreover, the potential adverse health effects associated with these chemicals will be reviewed.

Traditional dry sausages are one of the meat products that target globally by thousands of meat consumers. From a consumer perception point of view, the quality of this traditional meat product is of great concern. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the sensory and chemical quality of 100 samples of dry sausage marketed in Ismailia city, Egypt. Only 22 dry sausage samples were accepted in concern to their appearance and 56 samples were accepted in concern to their flavor. Out of 78 samples rejected for appearance, 43 (overfilling), 12 (fading) and 23 (discolored) rejected sausage samples. Out of 44 samples rejected for flavor, 28 (rancid), 10 (sour), and 6 (putrid) rejected sausage samples. The mean values of moisture, protein, fat, ash, CHO, and NaCl contents for dry sausage samples were 43.7, 15.3, 19.9, 4.3, 13.6, and 3.2 respectively. 90% of sausage samples corresponded with the standard limit of moisture content. Commercial fraud during the manufacture of the dry sausage was detected based on their protein content whereas 56% of the sausage samples were unfit with the requirement of Egyptian Standard for protein contents. The mean pH, TBA and TVB-N values for the examined dry sausage samples were 5.1, 0.9 (mg/Kg), and 14.9 (mg/100g) respectively. It could be concluded that a considerable number of dry sausage samples had deviation in their sensory and chemical quality and may have a negative effect on consumer satisfaction.

This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence, serotypes, and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella and E. coli isolates recovered from 200 meat and meat products samples (fresh beef, imported frozen meat, imported frozen beef liver, minced beef, beef burger, Egyptian luncheon, kofta and fresh beef sausage), collected randomly from supermarkets and grocery stores at El Fayoum governorate, between September 2019 to July 2020. E. coli was detected in 3% (n= 6/200) and Salmonella in 1.5% (n=3/200) of the total samples, respectively. Salmonella isolates were serotyped as S. Infantis from frozen Brazilian meat, S. Typhimurium from fresh beef sausage and S. Tsevie from fresh minced beef. Serotyping of E. coli showed that E. coli O26:H11, E. coli O91:H21, E. coli O128:H2, and E. coli O124 were isolated from fresh minced beef, frozen beef liver, kofta and beef sausage, respectively. Antimicrobial resistance phenotyping revealed that the isolated Salmonella and E. coli strains were resistant to 60-86.66% and 66.66- 93.33% of the total tested antibiotics, respectively. E. coli strains were positive for blaCTX-M, aadB, Sul1, dfrA, tetA(A), blaSHV, and qnrA, while BlaTEM, BlaCTX-M, qnrA and aadB virulence genes were detected in Salmonella. The antimicrobial resistance genotypic and phenotypic data evaluated in this study would be helpful to estimate the transmission of multilinked antimicrobial resistance genes to human pathogens and the likelihood of consumer exposure to resistant strains.