A Study of the Microbial Contamination Levels in Local and Imported Minced Meat in Benghazi City, Libya

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate bacterial contaminants in local and imported minced red meat available in the local markets of Benghazi city. A total of 20 samples of local and imported red meat (Brazilian, Romanian, Sudanese) were randomly collected, with five samples from each type, from five different areas in Benghazi (Al-Laithi, Al-Majouri, Bouhdima, Shebna, and Al-Salmani). Meat extracts were cultured on various selective and differential media to detect bacterial contamination, primarily Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp. The results showed a high bacterial load in imported red meat, mostly exceeding the permissible limits when compared with the Libyan Standard Specification. The total microbial counts of local minced red meat sold in the studied shops ranged between 87 × 10² CFU/g and 39 × 10² CFU/g, whereas the total microbial counts of imported minced red meat ranged between 66 × 10⁵ CFU/g and 22 × 10⁴ CFU/g. Furthermore, variable counts of E. coli and S. aureus were detected, in addition to the identification of other bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, Citrobacter spp., Enterococcus spp., and yeasts of the genus Candida spp. The counts of these microorganisms were significantly lower in local meat compared to imported minced meat. However, Salmonella spp. were not detected in either local or imported samples.