Study on Pseudomonas spp. isolated from pork and chicken meat

Pseudomonas spp. are heterotrophic, Gram-negative, aerobic bacteria widely distributed in the environment, acting as food spoilage agents and opportunistic pathogens in humans. In this study, we applied the ISO 13720:2010 for enumeration of presumptive Pseudomonas spp. in meat and meat products to investigate the contamination of Pseudomonas spp. in pork and chicken meat samples collected from markets in various districts of Ho Chi Minh City. The results indicated that 78% of pork samples and 72% of chicken samples were contaminated with Pseudomonas spp., with average densities of 4.9×106 CFU/g and 6.8×106 CFU/g, respectively. Almost isolated Pseudomonas strains could grow at neutral and alkaline pH, with an optimal temperature range of 10°C to 44°C, and tolerate to NaCl 5%. These findings provide critical information on the distribution and growth characteristics of Pseudomonas spp. in meat, therefore, being a premise to propose the research on density thresholds to ensure food quality.