Multiple Interventions for Improving Food Safety Practices in 2 Small Beef Abattoirs of Honduras and Associated Impacts on Risk-Mitigation Management

2Citations
Citations of this article
19Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Mitigation of risk for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella contamination was evaluated after a multiple-intervention approach (comprising food safety education and training, implementation of customized food safety practices and programs, and environmental monitoring programs with audits and corrective actions) in 2 small Honduran beef abattoirs. Previously, neither abattoir had food safety programs in place nor were they subjected to strict food safety regulatory surveillance. Abattoirs A and B were sampled on 4 nonconsecutive months each. Swab samples of abattoir A (n = 160, 40 samples per sampling date) and abattoir B (n = 78, 16-22 samples per sampling date) were taken from direct and indirect food contact surfaces, screened by BAX real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and confirmed using immunomagnetic separation, selective media, and latex agglutination. In abattoir A, Salmonella presence was negligible, whereas presumptive STECs were present in 10%, 12.5%, 0%, and 5% of the environmental samples respective to each sampling month, indicating a reduction of STEC (P =.06) by the third and fourth sampling months. Conversely, presumptive STEC presence was negligible in abattoir B, whereas Salmonella presence for each sampling month was of 5.6%, 6.3%, 27.3%, and 0.0%, respectively. Upon the increased pathogen presence detected on the third sampling month, additional actions were taken to reinforce the implementation of food safety practices and programs, which resulted in a Salmonella reduction to 0% by the fourth sampling month (P =.013). The satisfactory results strongly suggest that a multiple-intervention approach is crucial to improve food safety in this type of premises.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Casas, D., Calle, A., Bueso, M., Huerta-Leidenz, N., Miller, M. F., & Brashears, M. M. (2020). Multiple Interventions for Improving Food Safety Practices in 2 Small Beef Abattoirs of Honduras and Associated Impacts on Risk-Mitigation Management. Environmental Health Insights, 14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178630220914596

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free