Effects of hygienic treatments during slaughtering on microbial dynamics and contamination of sheep meat.

The aims of this study were to investigate bacterial dynamics in the sheep meat chain, from fleece to meat trimmings, using both quantitative and qualitative analyses, and to study the effects on microbial load associated with the hygienic interventions of: i) shearing sheep immediately before slaughter, ii) manual steam vacuum pasteurisation, iii) hot water pasteurisation of carcasses, followed by iv) chilling. A further aim was to provide evidence to determine whether or not unshorn sheep should be handled in a processing line separate from that of shorn sheep in Norwegian abattoirs. A total of 176 surface swab samples were collected from three sites along the value chain: i) on fleeces, ii) on carcasses at the end of the slaughter line, and iii) on carcasses after chilling for 24h, and 32 samples were collected from meat trimmings.