Assessment of the microbiological state of meat sold in butcheries shop of Ngaoundere Municipality, Adamawa Region Cameroon

Background and objective: Meat is appreciated by millions of people worldwide as a major source of animal protein, but is considered as a favorable medium for the growth of different microorganisms that constitute health risk to consumers.Therefore, it is crucial to use microbiological criteria to detect the quality of meat products.This study was carried out to evaluate some physical parameters and microbial contamination associated with meat handling in the dry and rainy seasons in the Ngaoundere Municipality.Materials and Methods: To achieve this, 125 composite swabs samples were collected from some sale points, municipal abattoir and Ngoundere industrial abattoir of the town.Parameters analyzed were pH, temperature, carcasses condition scoring, total viable count (TVC), total coliforms, fecal coliforms, Campylobacter spp., Monococcus spp., Staphilococccus spp, Salmonella spp., E.coli 157:H and Vibrio spp., Aspergilus spp., Fusarium spp., using different microbiological standard methods and confirmed by Api gallery tests.Results: There was a very significant difference (p<0.0001) in the total viable cells counts.However, no significant difference was observed between the areas in the two sampled seasons as far as the fecal and total coliforms are concerned.Campylobacter spp, Vibrio spp E .coli157.H and Aspergilus and Fusarium were isolated from many of the samples in the two seasons.There was no significant difference in the temperature and pH values of the collected samples (p>0.05).Conclusion: Education of stake holders involved in meat production, improved sanitary measures and microbial monitoring technics at each production levels could considerably help reduced these contaminations.