Brazil is one of the largest meat producers in the world. It had an estimated production of 9.7
million tons of beef in 2022, of which 2.4 million tons were exported, whth invoicing of US$
1.3 billion. Meat, like any product of animal origin, is a food that requires care with microbial
pathogens, as animals can be natural reservoirs. Aiming at longer shelf life and preserving the
quality of the meat, technologies are applied to the fresh product, such as vacuum packaging,
which also contributes to the wet maturation stage. The objective of this work was to monitor
the indicator and pathogenic microbiota indicator aduring the shelf life of vacuum-packed
bovine Longissimus dorsi through microbiological and biomolecular analyses. Five samples
of vacuum-packed beef tenderloin (Longissimus dorsi) were collected. Each of the samples
was divided into four parts and each part was used to compose a part of each of the pools,
totaling four pools kept at 7oC that were analyzed on days 0, 20, 40 and 60 after primary
packaging. The microorganisms searched were mesophilic aerobes, psychrotrophs,
Pseudomonas spp., coliforms at 30°C, enterobacteria, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus,
Escherichia coli shiga toxin-producing (STEC), enteropathogenic (EPEC), enterohemorrhagic
(EHEC), enteroaggregative (EAEC ), enterotoxigenic (ETEC) and enteroinvasive (EIEC),
Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. Counts of indicator microorganisms increased
progressively in most of the evaluated groups. All pathogenic microorganisms searched were
identified. Of the microorganisms that have a standard defined in legislation, Salmonella spp.
and E. coli were outside the standard defined by legislation from the 20th. Even with some
standards not defined by law, other groups of indicator microorganisms, with recognized
proteolytic and/or lipolytic capacity, which presented high counts, it is possible that the
analyzed product presents changes in quality and safety for consumption that can shorten the
shelf life, at the same time that it can be a vehicle for pathogens directly and indirectly related
to contamination that predisposes foodborne illnesses. For to increase the shelf life of the
vacuum-packed sirloin beef and compliance the standards of quality and microbiological
safety, it is necessary for the establishment to carry out revisions and adjustments in the
execution and monitoring of self-control programs to guarantee the quality of the products.
|
