Investigition of the prevalence of Escherichia coli and Sarcocystis contamination in hamburgers, ground meat, and grilled meat sold in Ahvaz County

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Azad University Islamic of Shahrekord

2 Assistant Professor, Nutrition and Organic Products Research Center, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran

Abstract

Sarcocystosis is a common disease between humans and livestock that is transmitted from livestock to humans through the consumption of raw or undercooked meat and can pose a threat to the health of consumers. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Escherichia coli and Sarcocystis contamination in hamburgers, ground meat, and grilled meat sold in Ahvaz county. In this study, 90 samples were randomly selected from July to September 2024, including 30 ground meat samples, 30 hamburger samples and 30 kebab samples were collected from supply centers and transferred to the Food Hygiene Laboratory of Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord. The samples were used to examine the presence of sarcocysts by microscopy and PCR and to detect Escherichia coli contamination by standard methods. The results showed that respectively sarcocysts were detected microscopically in 7 samples (23.3%) of traditional hamburgers, 5 samples (16.67%) of packaged ground meat, and 7 samples (23.7%) of kebabs. PCR results on 18srRNA gene showed that sarcocysts genus were detected in 5 samples (16.67%) of hamburgers, 4 samples (13.33%) of ground meat, and 7 samples (23.3%) of kebabs. Also, Escherichia coli contamination was found in 9 samples (30%), 4 samples (6.67%) of traditional hamburgers, kebabs, and ground meat. Given the presence of Escherichia coli and sarcocysts in all samples, it is recommended to avoid eating raw or undercooked meat products, and operators should take strict measures to enforce strict regulations.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Veterinary Laboratory Research
Volume 17, Issue 1 - Serial Number 27
in processing
April 2025
Pages 117-126

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