Abstract

Meat is regarded as one of the main sources of food-borne diseases; its evaluation can constitute a valuable source of information that can be used in the design of collective prophylaxis programs in public health. In order to assess the level of contamination of certain meat products by coagulase-positive staphylococci and the influence of the storage temperature of these products, we conducted a study in three types of trade in the region of Algiers (Algeria). In total, 25 samples divided between meat products from red meat (minced meat, Merguez) and white meat (turkey, chicken) were taken at three different sales outlets (covered market, supermarkets and independent butchers), for bacteriological analysis. The mean of coagulase positive staphylococci were 1.60 ± 0.33 log₁₀ cfu/g for minced meat, 2.02 ± 0.46 log₁₀ cfu/g for Merguez, 2.02 ± 0.47 log₁₀ cfu/g for turkey and 1.63 ± 0.21 log₁₀ cfu/g for chicken. In addition, the descriptive analysis of the storage temperature data for these meat products revealed that, these temperatures have low correlations with variations in bacterial levels for minced meat, Merguez and turkey (minced). These results reflected insufficient hygienic conditions in the preparation, preservation and sale of these meat products. Thus, the consumption of these products can present a real health risk to public health.

Key words: Algeria, coagulase positive staphylococci, contamination, meat products, storage temperature.