Prevalence of Arcobacter, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella species in Retail Raw Chicken, Pork, Beef and Goat meat in Osogbo, Nigeria

Three hundred (300) samples of fresh raw chicken, beef, goat and pork meat were screened for Arcobacter species by selective cultural procedures and for Escherichia coli, Salmonella species and Staphylococcus aureus enriched in peptone water and then streaked onto appropriate bacteriological agar. From the 300 samples analysed, S. aureus {138 (46%)} was the most frequently isolated organism, followed by E. coli {78 (26%)}, Arcobacter spp. {57(19%)} and Salmonella spp {6(2%)}. In this study, varying level of resistance of Escherichia coli 66(84.6%), Salmonella 6(100%) and Arcobacter 57(100%) to amoxicillin was observed. The susceptibility pattern indicates that the bacterial isolates exhibited a varying level of resistance to two or more antimicrobial agents with maximum resistance to amoxicillin. The detection of these organisms in meat may constitute a serious public health concern. Hence, there is a need for the implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point System monitoring of critical contamination points used in meat production to ensure food safety in Nigeria.