Hygiene and microbial contamination along the pork value chain in Vietnam

In Vietnam, pork accounts for 75% of total meat consumed daily at
households. However, pork may contain high levels of microbial
contamination such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli which might
cause harm to consumers. To determine microbial contamination along
the pork value chain, we collected 216 samples from 72 pig farms (floor
swab, drinking and waste water), 545 from 49 slaughterhouses (carcass
swab, lymph node, rectal feces, floor swab and washing water) and 514
from 220 pork shops in the informal markets (pork cuts, ground pork
and cutting board swab) in 2 provinces of Vietnam (Hung Yen and Nghe
An). Overall prevalence from combined all types of above mentioned
samples at pig farms, slaughterhouses and pork shops for Salmonella
were 35%, 30% and 37%, and for E. coli were 91%, 75% and 79%,
respectively. Salmonella contamination in the final product (pork at
market) was 45% and an average concentration of 9 MPN/g was
recorded. E. coli average load along different points of the chain was
5.3±1.4 (farm floor swabs), 2.9±0.9 (carcass swabs), 3.1±1.0 (slaughterhouse
floor swabs), and 3.3±1.1 (market shop cutting board swabs)
logCFU/cm2
, whereas pork from market had 3.4±0.9 logCFU/g.
Demonstrated high levels of Salmonella in the final product (pork at
market) induces the potential health risks for the consumers. Detected
values for E. coli indicate general poor hygiene along the chain.
Appropriate hygiene practices and management are required to achieve
better pork quality and reduce the risk for the consumer. These data
will serve as inputs for health risk assessments related to pork
consumption.