Washing of animal body coat effects on salmonella load on hide and in post slaughter carcasses

Present study was carried out to find reduction in the level of Salmonella contamination in meat form public health point of view. Reduction in load of Salmonella on cattle body coats (hides) and in carcasses against the use of various washing treatments of the animals before slaughtering e.g. cleaning with; i. water, ii. Water plus soap iii. Water plus soap plus Dettol, iv. No washing (control). These treatments were applied on the cattle body coats of live cattle prior to slaughter, concurrently in following three groups i. fresh water, ii. 50 0C heated water and iii. 70 0C heated water. Samples were also collected after slaughtering from these groups which were treated against different treatments. In second part of the experiment, meat transporting vehicles were also washed to check the reduction in Salmonella prevalence. Total samples (n= 88) comprised of washed samples (n= 59) and unwashed (n=29). Data was transformed into log (LNTVC) for clearer understanding. All collected samples were positive for Salmonella contamination. A large number of colonies were observed and recorded as total viable count (TVC).