Factors Associated with Bacterial Contamination of Poultry Meat at Butcher Shops in Biskra, Algeria

The latest available data indicate that since 2018, poultry has been the most widely consumed meat in the world. However, poultry meat is frequently highly contaminated with microorganisms. Total viable count (TVC), which is also called total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB), is an indicator of bacterial quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with bacterial contamination of poultry meat at butcher shops. The study was carried out from January 2018 to July 2020 and included 10 butcher shops in Biskra (Algeria). Different poultry meat samples (n=159) were purchased from butcher shops, prior to and after the outbreak of COVID-19. Each sample was tested for TAMB and faecal coliforms. In this study, one independent variable was quantitative, which is the contamination of poultry meat by faecal coliforms, and nine variables were categorical: whole carcass packed at the slaughterhouse or cut at butcher shop, sample type: thigh skin, thigh meat, neck skin, liver, turkey escalope, and before or after the outbreak of COVID-19. Descriptive statistics, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and multiple linear regression were used to examine if the various factors identified were associated with the bacterial contamination of poultry meat. The average level of contamination of poultry meat by TAMB was: 6.40 ± 0.81 log10 CFU/g. MCA results with graphical representations of qualitative and quantitative variables show the interfactor relationships. The multiple regression model explained 48.6% of the TAMB variations and estimated TAMB contamination of poultry meat according to the equation: Y= 0.477 X1 + (- 0.639) X2 + (- 0.557) X3 + (- 0.295) X4 +5.522; Y (TAMB in log10 CFU/g), X1 (faecal coliforms in log10 CFU/g), X2 (Before/after COVID-19), X3 (Turkey escalope), X4 (Carcass/cut). Identifying the factors associated with bacterial contamination of poultry meat is necessary to implement effective preventive measures in butcher shops, thus significantly reducing contamination levels and providing customers with high quality poultry meat. Najnoviji dostupni podatci pokazuju da je od 2018. godine meso peradi najviše konzumirano meso na svijetu. Međutim, meso peradi često je vrlo kontaminirano mikroorganizmima. Ukupni broj živih mikroorganizama (engl. total viable count; TVC), koji se naziva i “ukupan broj aerobnih mezofilnih bakterija” (engl. total aerobic mesophilic bacteria; TAMB) indikator je bakterijske kvalitete. Cilj ove studije bio