Assessment of Hygienic Practices in Beef Cattle Slaughterhouses and Retail Shops in Bishoftu, Ethiopia: Implications for Public Health

Fanta D. Gutema, Getahun E. Agga, Reta D. Abdi, Alemnesh Jufare, Luc Duchateau, Lieven De Zutter and Sarah Gabriël
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Fanta D. Gutema: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Veterinary Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa 1000, Ethiopia
Getahun E. Agga: Food Animal Environmental Systems Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bowling Green, KY 42101, USA
Reta D. Abdi: Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Long Island University, Greenvale, NY 11548, USA
Alemnesh Jufare: Department of Animal Health, Alage Agricultural Technical Vocational Educational Training College, Ziway 1000, Ethiopia
Luc Duchateau: Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Lieven De Zutter: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Sarah Gabriël: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: Understanding the potential drivers of microbial meat contamination along the entire meat supply chain is needed to identify targets for interventions to reduce the number of meatborne bacterial outbreaks. We assessed the hygienic practices in cattle slaughterhouses (28 employees) and retail shops (127 employees) through face-to-face interviews and direct personal observations. At the slaughterhouses, stunning, de-hiding and evisceration in vertical position, carcass washing and separate storage of offal were the identified good practices. Lack of hot water baths, absence of a chilling room, infrequent hand washing, insufficiently trained staff and irregular medical check-up were practices that lead to unhygienic handling of carcasses. At the retail shops, cleaning equipment using soap and hot water (81%), storing unsold meat in refrigerators (92%), concrete floors and white painted walls and ceilings were good practices. Adjacently displaying offal and meat (39%), lack of a cold chain, wrapping meat with plastic bags and newspapers, using a plastic or wooden cutting board (57%), infrequent washing of equipment and floors, and inadequately trained employees were practices that could result in unhygienic handling of beef. Our study identified unhygienic practices both at the slaughterhouses and retail shops that can predispose the public to meatborne infections, which could be improved through training and implementation of quality control systems.

Keywords: hygienic practices; slaughterhouses; beef; retail shops; public health; Bishoftu (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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