Hygienic quality of food from animal origin and antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli in a border region of Algeria

Abstract

Food of animal origin such as milk and meat have a high nutritional value and form an important part of the human and animal diet, but are difficult to produce and are highly perishable. Additionally significant socio–economic loss will result if production and/or storage conditions are neglected, whether through loss of the food or illnesses caused by consumption and treatment. It was in this context that we carried out this study, to assess the hygienic quality of cow’s milk and meat produced and consumed in a border region of Algeria. A total of 130 samples were taken from animal foodstuffs (raw cow’s milk, sheep carcasses, chicken and turkey meat) at farm, abattoir and butchery levels. Mesophilic aerobic flora, total coliforms, thermotolerant coliforms and Escherichia coli were enumerated, and the sensitivity of the E. coli to certain antibiotics most commonly used in human and veterinary medicine was assessed. High levels of contamination and bacterial loads ranging from 5.36×102 CFU·mL–1 for milk, to 1.56×105 CFU·cm–2 for sheep meat, some of this foodstuffs are acceptable but represent a food hazard, and others are not acceptable according to regulations. A high percentage of multiresistant strains and worrying resistance rates were detected, and if the necessary measures are not taken as a matter of urgency in the context of “One Health”, the situation is likely to worsen and human and animal health will be affected.