Avaliação das condições higiênico-sanitárias de supermercados comercializadores de carne bovina em Recife, Pernambuco, Nordeste do Brasil.

Abstract

Consumption of contaminated foods can cause harm to health with the occurrence of foodborne diseases, which are a worldwide concern. Beef is an important component of human food because it has, among other characteristics, excellent nutritional value. In the Northeast, the state of Pernambuco stands out with regard to beef consumption, with significant growth in the participation of supermarkets as marketing channels for this product. In view of the existence of specific norms related to the trade of beef in these establishments in Pernambuco, the objective of Chapter I of the present work was to evaluate the quality of meat traded in Recife-PE relating it to the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the merchants. registered and not registered with the competent agency. A checklist was applied to analyze the structural conditions and best practices of 39 supermarkets. Subsequently, handlers' knowledge level was measured and meat samples were collected from 20 establishments for microbiological analysis. It was observed that the unregistered establishments had a higher amount of results that were out of the standards required by the legislation. In 15 (75%) of them there was unsatisfactory level for hygienic-structural conditions, in 11 (55%) for the meat storage temperature and in 70% the handlers presented unsatisfactory levels of knowledge about Good Practices. In the microbiological analysis, 20 (50%) samples were found outside the standards established by the legislation, identifying the presence of Salmonella sp. in 7 (17.5%) samples, Escherichia coli in 9 (22.5%) and coagulase positive Staphylococcus in 16 (40%). Another relevant factor that should be taken into consideration in food production is water quality control. This practice must be accurately verified, as water is essential at all stages of production and an important vehicle in the occurrence of DTAs. Thus, Chapter II of this paper aimed to analyze the water quality in meat trade in Recife-PE. Physicochemical and microbiological analyzes of the supply water of 39 meat trader supermarkets were carried out with and without registration with the competent agency for its supervision. Variables related to good practices in water quality control were also evaluated. The results were compared to those stipulated by the current legislation for water control, and showed that 19 (48.7%) samples showed some non-compliance, being eight (40%) of registered establishments and 11 (57.9%) of the unregistered. In the microbiological analysis it was observed that, in total, nine (23%) presented non-conformities, being three (15%) of the registered establishments and six (31.57%) of those not registered. The study results indicated that there is greater regarding the adoption of water quality control establishments without registration and this reflected directly on their quality. In addition, beef merchants not registered with the supervisory body state have lower hygienic and sanitary conditions than those registered, reflecting directly on the microbiological quality of the commercialized meat.