This work revolves around the assessment of the microbiological quality of ground beef in the Moroccan market. Samples of minced meat were collected from retail outlets (artisanal butcher shops and modern butcher shops) in Oujda city (Morocco). The samples were analyzed for the enumeration of microbiological process hygiene criteria (Total Plate Count, Escherichia coli, coagulase positive staphylococci and sulphite-reducing clostridia) and food safety criteria (Salmonella sp. and Listeria monocytogenes). The results indicated a significant contamination of all the analyzed samples. The mean values obtained (expressed in log CFU/g) were 4.94, 2.7, 1.42 and 1.14 respectively for total plate counts (TPC), E. coli (ECC), coagulase positive staphylococci (CPS) and Sulphite-reducing clostridia (SRC). Further, the results show the absence of safety indicators in all the samples. According to the regulations applied in Morocco, 60%, 13%and 3% of the samples were ofpoor or unsatisfactory microbiological quality regarding E. coli, coagulase positive staphylococci and Sulphitereducing anaerobes criteria (SRC) respectively. And 7%, 13% and 30% of the samples have acceptable microbial quality for ECC, CPS and SRC respectively. The highest bacterial counts in the samples used in this research were recorded in traditional Butcher shops (P < 0.05). These high levels of microbial contamination and occurrence of pathogenic bacteria reflect the poor hygienic quality of ground beef under these conditions.

Abstract