Incidence of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in ground beef, broilers and processed meats in Pretoria, South Africa

Three types of processed meats (vienna sausages, shoulder ham, and cervelat), ground beef and broilers were purchased from 17 different supermarkets in the Pretoria area (South Africa) during 1991. The 232 samples were analyzed for the presence of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus , with total aerobic plate counts (APCs) also being determined. Escherichia coli was found in 74.5% of the ground beef samples, in 79.1% of the broilers, and in 27.7% of the processed meats. Staphylococcus aureus was found in 23.4% ground beef, 39.5% broiler and 7.1% processed meat samples. The total APCs ranged from as low as log 1 CFU/g of sample (shoulder ham) to as high as log 12.1 CFU/g (ground beef). No identifiable relationship between the total APCs and the occurrence of E. coli and/or S. aureus was evident. This study confirms the view that E. coli and S. aureus are frequent contaminants of meat, with South Africa being no exception.