Hygienic profile of halal meat retailed in Tuscany

HYGIENIC PROFILE OF HALAL MEAT RETAILED IN TUSCANY In recent years, the halal meat market in Italy is growing at a remarkable rate, due to the rise in the number of immigrants of Islamic faith (1). In Tuscany, the ritual slaughtering is possible in 5 authorized slaughterhouses for ungulates and 2 for poultry meat. Despite the increase in halal products variety in ethnic restaurants and fast food, in this region fresh meat is still mostly purchased from independent halal butchers. Significantly, while butcher’s shops have been disappearing from the high street retail for some time, the number of halal butcher’s shops has continued to grow. The aim of this research is to evaluate the hygienic profile of fresh meat and preparations of beef meat from animals slaughtered according to Islamic ritual and marketed in halal butchers in Tuscany. In order to verify the evolution of post-mortem changes after ritual slaughtering, pH of longissimus dorsi muscle of 84 bovine carcasses at 24 hours from ritual slaughtering was measured at a slaughterhouse in Pistoia. At retail level, a total of 22 butcher’s shops from 5 provinces of Tuscany were selected: 8 in Florence, 4 in Prato, 3 in Livorno, 6 in Pisa (3 in the city of Pisa and 3 in the province of Pisa, 2 in Pontedera and 1 in Montopoli Val D 'Arno) and 1 in Pistoia. A total of 96 beef samples were purchased from the 22 selected bazaars and they were chosen basing on availability and diversity of types of fresh and prepared meat (fillet, stew, minced meat and sausage). All meat samples were tested for the main pathogenic microorganisms (Salmonella spp, Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes) and hygiene indicators (Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp and positive coagulase staphylococci). Values of pH of bovine carcasses after 24 hours from ritual slaughtering were below 5,8 only in 11,1% of carcasses. Salmonella spp was absent in all specimens, while 10 samples were positive for Listeria monocytogenes and 7 for Yersinia enterocolitica. High Enterobacteriaceae loads (>105 cfu/g) were detected in 40.6% of specimens, positive coagulase staphylococci in 24%, enterococci in 3.1% and E. coli in 1%. In many butcheries examined, minced meat was the most contaminated prepared meat. The results of pH measurements show that halal meat can be easily contaminated (2). These foods are consumed after cooking, but the presence of pathogens and, in some cases, the high bacterial counts for hygiene indicators and, in particular, for positive coagulase staphylococci, producers of heat-resistant enterotoxins, suggest the need for constant and accurate monitoring in these commercial realities, addressed not only to the products, but also to the hygienic practices adopted. (1) Priore L. Il consumo di carne halal nei paesi europei: caratteristiche e trasformazioni in atto. Polis Working Papers dicembre 2011; (2) Piras et al. Valutazione della shelf-life di carni bovine halal sezionate e macinate. Ital J Food Saf 2011, 1, 55-60