Aims: The present study aimed to assess the Arcobacter contamination on bovine carcasses postevisceration and postcooling in two slaughterhouses and in ready-to-eat minced beef.
Methods and results: Carcasses (n = 247) were sampled at four sites in two slaughterhouses and 100 minced beef samples were collected at retail. Isolation was performed by a quantitative and qualitative Arcobacter selective method, and the isolates were identified by multiplex PCR, after which a part of them were characterized by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR. Although arcobacters were isolated from 37% of the bovine carcasses postevisceration with the chest and the foreleg as most contaminated sites, cooling the carcasses for at least 24 h reduced the incidence of Arcobacter (7%) on the carcass surface significantly. Arcobacter butzleri was the species most frequently isolated, although co-contamination with multiple species also occurred. At retail, arcobacters were present in 9% of the minced beef samples, with Arcobacter butzleri as the dominant species.
Conclusions: Forced air cooling of bovine carcasses for at least 24 h decreased the number of positive carcasses, but did not eliminate all arcobacters.
Significance and impact of the study: This study demonstrates that maintaining good hygiene practices throughout the food supply chain is crucial to ensure safe food products at the consumer level.