Current changes in meat inspection of pigs in the European Union

Sveobuhvatni longitudinalni sustav osiguranja sigurnosti mesa donosi prve promjene, one u načinu veterinarskog pregleda svinjskog mesa na liniji klanja. Uvodi se samo vizualni pregled rutinski zaklanih zdravih svinja, bez primjene palpacije i zarezivanja. Manualne tehnike u pregledu mesa smatraju se rizičnima za bakterijsko onečišćenje mesa. S druge strane, takvo onečišćenje moguće je u gotovo svim fazama klaoničke obrade pa modifikacija veterinarskog pregleda sama za sebe nije dovoljna za smanjenje rizika od (križnog) bakterijskog onečišćenja. Ostaje pitanje koji će se javnozdravstveni rizici povećati ukoliko se primjenjuje samo vizualni pregled. Aktualni propisi i dalje podržavaju primjenu tradicionalnog pregleda mesa svinja u slučaju kada je ugroženo javno zdravlje ili zdravlje životinja te dobrobit. Pregled svinjskog mesa na trihinelu također se modificira u smislu smanjenja učestalosti uzorkovanja trupova s obzirom na postojanje kontroliranih uvjeta držanja na gospodarstvima.A comprehensive, longitudinal safety assurance system for meat brings initial changes to veterinarian inspections of pork in the slaughter house. A visual inspection is introduced to routinely slaughtered, healthy pigs, without using palpitation or incisions. Manual techniques used to inspect meat are considered to be a risk factor for bacterial contamination of meat. On the other hand, this form of contamination is possible in almost all phases of slaughterhouse processing, so modification of veterinarian examinations in itself is not sufficient to reduce the risk of cross contamination. The question remains which public health hazards will increase if only visual inspection is used. The current regulations still support the use of traditional inspections of pigs if public health or the health of animals or welfare is at risk. Examinations of pork for trichinella have also been modified by reducing the frequency of sampling due to the existence of controlled conditions on farms

Učinak začina i različitih biljaka na preživljavanje i rast bakterije Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

In this study, the antibacterial activity of a total of 16 spices at a final concentration of 2.5 % against V. parahaemolyticus at two different temperatures, 5 and 37 ºC, was tested. Anise seed, chili, cloves, cinnamon, coriander seed, cumin, curry, garlic, ginger, oregano, paprika, black and white pepper, rosemary, thyme and turmeric, were collected from a retail store from the same producer. Prior to antibacterial screening, the spices were analyzed using standard microbiological procedures for: aerobic spore forming bacteria, sulfite-reducing clostridia, yeast and molds, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococci, and the presence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. For detection of anti-Vibrio activity, the same amount of V. parahaemolyticus culture in NaCl-BHI broth, at 104 cfu/mL, was added to the 5 % suspension of spices, incubated for 24 h and then inoculated onto TCBS agar. After screening, minimal inhibitory concentrations were determined for spices, which showed strong antimicrobial activity. Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli and coagulase-positive staphylococci were not detected in any of the spice samples. Aerobic spore forming bacteria were present in 93.7 %, sulfite reducing clostridia in 43.7 %, yeasts in 12.5 %, molds in 62.5 % and Enterobacteriaceae in 18.7 % of the spice samples. At 5 °C, all spices except anise and coriander seed showed antibacterial activity against V. parahaemolyticus, with viable count reduced by at least 1 log; strong antibacterial activities at this temperature were found for oregano, garlic, thyme, cloves, cinnamon, curry, rosemary, ginger and turmeric. Oregano, garlic, thyme, cloves and cinnamon showed strong antibacterial activity at 37 °C. The lowest minimal inhibitory concentration at 37 °C was 0.078 % in cloves, and at 5 °C was 0.0012 % in turmeric. The effect of the accompanying microflora of the spices on the number of V. parahaemolyticus was not observed. This result showed that some spices have potential for reducing the risk of contaminating V. parahaemolyticus in seafood, combined with low temperature.U ovom istraživanju pretražena je antibakterijska aktivnost ukupno 16 začina finalne koncentracije 2,5 % prema V. parahaemolyticus, na temperaturi od 5 i 37 ºC. Anis, čili, klinčić, cimet, korijander, kumin, curry, češnjak, đumbir, origano, paprika, crni i bijeli papar, ružmarin, timijan i kurkuma, kupljeni su u maloprodaji od istog proizvođača. Prije pretraživanja antibakterijske aktivnosti, začini su pretraženi standardnim mikrobiološkim postupcima na: aerobne sporogene bakterije, sulfitreducirajuće klostridije, kvasce i plijesni, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, koagulaza pozitivne stafilokoke, te prisutnost bakterija Salmonella spp. i Listeria monocytogenes. Za utvrđivanje anti-vibrio aktivnosti, 5 % otopini začina dodana je kultura V. parahaemolyticus u NaCl-BHI bujonu u broju 104 cfu/mL, te je uslijedila inkubacija 24 sata, a zatim nacjepljivanje na TCBS agar. Nakon utvrđivanja antibakterijske aktivnosti, utvrđena je i minimalna inhibicijska koncentracija za začine koji su pokazali jaku aktivnost. Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli i koagulaza-pozitivni stafilokoki nisu nađeni niti u jednom uzorku začina. Aerobne sporogene bakterije utvrđene su u 93,7 %, sulfitreducirajuće klostridije u 43,7 %, kvasci u 12,5 %, plijesni u 62,5 % i Enterobacteriaceae u 18,7 % uzoraka začina. Na temperaturi od 5 °C, svi začini osim anisa i korijandera pokazali su antibakterijsku aktivnost protiv V. parahaemolyticus smanjivši ukupan broj bakterija za najmanje 1 log cfu/mL, a jaku antibakterijsku aktivnost na toj temperaturi pokazali su origano, češnjak, timijan, klinčić, cimet, curry, ružmarin, đumbir i kurkuma. Na 37 °C, origano, češnjak, timijan, klinčić i cimet su pokazali antibakterijsku aktivnost, i to jaku. Minimalna inhibicijska koncentracija na 37 °C bila je 0,078 % za klinčić, i 0,0012 % za kurkumu na 5 °C. Nije primijećen utjecaj prateće mikroflore začina na broj V. parahaemolyticus. Ovi rezultati su pokazali da neki začini imaju potencijal za smanjenje rizika od V. parahaemolyticus u proizvodima ribarstva, a u kombinaciji s niskom temperaturom

Microbiological quality of poultry meat on the Croatian market

This paper presents an investigation of the microbiological quality of poultry meat sold on the Croatian market. Bacteriological analysis was performed on 66 samples of fresh, retail-cut chicken meat (21 samples of chicken breasts without skin - “fillet”, and 19 samples of chicken breasts with skin) and frozen ground chicken meat (26 samples). Samples were collected from retailers (kept in cooling showcases at +4 ºC, deep-freezers at -18 ºC, respectively), and then bacteriologically tested for the presence of bacteria Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, Campylobacter spp., and sulphite-reducing clostridia. Total count of aerobic mesophilic bacteria was also determined. Bacteriological tests were performed by means of standard methods of isolation and identification of individual species of bacteria according to ISO requirements. API-tests (Biomerieux) and BBL Identification System (Becton-Dickinson) were used for biochemical determination. With regard to microbiological quality and contamination of chicken meat, of importance is the finding of Salmonella spp. (10.60%), S. aureus (30.30%), L. monocytogenes (3.03%), enterobacteria (34.84%) and sulphite-reducing clostridia (1.50%). Campylobacter spp. were not found in any of the analysed samples. Total bacteria count found in frozen ground chicken meat was 5.23 ± 0.50 log10 CFU/g, whilst it was lower in cut chicken meat. Total bacteria count in chicken breast fillets amounted to 4.72 ± 0.38 log10 CFU/g, 3.67 ± 0.88log10 CFU/g in chicken breasts with skin, respectively. Results of the study suggest that a significant risk of meat spoilage and an increase in the number and species of bacteria depend on the specific part of analysed chicken meat, mode of packaging and storage after distribution to the market

Antimicrobial resistance of coagulase-negative staphylococci and lactic acid bacteria from industrially produced dairy products

U ovom radu istražena je osjetljivost koagulaza-negativnih stafilokoka (n=78) i bakterija mliječne kiseline (n=30) na klindamicin, tetraciklin, amikacin, amoksicilin + klavulanska kiselina, enrofloksacin, vankomicin, trimetoprim + sulfametoksazol, tobramicin, kloramfenikol, ciprofloksacin, eritromicin, penicilin i trimetoprim primjenom disk-difuzijskog testa i/ili E-testa. Izolati su izdvojeni iz industrijski proizvedenih mekih i tvrdih sireva, maslaca i salamure. Svi izolati stafilokoka bili su osjetljivi na klindamicin, amikacin, amoksicilin + klavulansku kiselinu, enrofloksacin, vankomicin, kloramfenikol i ciprofloksacin prema CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute) kriterijima. Ukupno 30 izolata (38,46 %) stafilokoka bilo je otporno na eritromicin, 18 na penicilin (23,07 %), 4 na tetraciklin (5,12 %), te po jedan izolat na trimetoprim, tobramicin i trimetoprim + sulfametoksazol (1,28 %). Od ukupno 78 testiranih izolata stafilokoka, njih 35 bilo je rezistentno na najmanje jednu antimikrobnu tvar (44,87 % izolata). Udio rezistentnih izolata u mekim sirevima kretao se od 22 do 70 % testiranih stafilokoka, dok u tvrdom siru i salamuri rezistentnih izolata nije bilo. Na rast bakterija mliječne kiseline nisu utjecali trimetoprim + sulfametoksazol (n=29), vankomicin (n=29), trimetoprim (n=28), amikacin (n=10) i tobramicin (n=10). Dobiveni rezultati ukazuju na to da značajan udio nepatogene mikroflore različitih mliječnih proizvoda s hrvatskog tržišta pokazuje fenotipsku rezistenciju na antimikrobne tvari.In this research, the susceptibility to clindamycin, tetracycline, amikacin, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, enrofloxacine, vancomycin, trimethoprim + sulphametoxazol, tobramycin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, penicillin and trimethoprim was tested in coagulase-negative staphylococci (n=78) and lactic acid bacteria (n=30) by means of disk diffusion test and E-test. The isolates were collected from soft and hard cheeses, butter and brine. All isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci were susceptible to clindamycin, amikacin, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, enrofloxacine, vancomycin, chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin according to CLSI breakpoints. A total of 30 staphylococci isolates (38.46 %) were resistant to erythromycin, 18 to penicillin (23.07 %), 4 to tetracycline (5.12 %), and one isolate to trimethoprim, tobramicin and trimethoprim + sulphametoxazol (1.28 %). Among 78 tested staphylococci, 35 of them were resistant to at least one antimicrobial substance (44.87 %). The rate of resistant isolates of different soft cheese types ranged from 22 to 70 %, while resistant staphylococci were absent in hard cheese and brine. The growth of lactic acid bacteria was not influenced by trimethoprim + sulphametoxazol (n=29), vancomycin (n=29), trimethoprim (n=28), amikacin (n=10) and tobramycin (n=10). The results show that significant part of apathogenic microbiota in different dairy products is phenotypically resistant to antimicrobial agents

Ecological networks and public participation in environmental protection

Ekološki važna područja su ona koja su uključena u ekološku mrežu Republike Hrvatske, na temelju prisutnosti na nacionalnoj razini značajnih vrsta i staništa. Ekološka mreža u Hrvatskoj je propisana Zakonom o zaštiti prirode, temeljem kojeg je donesena Uredba o proglašenju ekološke mreže. Međimurska županija smještena je na sjeveru Republike Hrvatske, omeđena je dvjema rijekama Murom i Dravom te je bogata kulturnim i povijesnim nasljeđem. Prvi regionalni park u Hrvatskoj je regionalni park Mura-Drava, koji je uvršten u ekološku mrežu Republike Hrvatske te je dio europske ekološke mreže Natura 2000. Regionalni park se proteže kroz pet županija i dvije susjedne države. Nadalje, park ima veliku biološku, krajobrazni i geološku raznolikost. U Republici Hrvatskoj javnost je slabo upoznata s pitanjima zaštite okoliša. Sudjelovanje javnosti u pitanjima zaštite okoliša i prirode doživljava promjene uslijed usklađivanja hrvatskog zakonodavstva s europskim. Prednosti sudjelovanja javnosti su kod rješavanja stvarnih problema, kod poboljšanja reputacije te mnogih drugih. Putem anonimne ankete provedene na 50 ispitanika iz gradske sredine Međimurske županije, svrha istraživanja je saznati ponašanja i navike kao dio ekološke svijesti građana te navike koje sugrađani imaju po pitanjima okoliša i zaštite prirode. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da su sugrađani djelomično osviješteni o potrebi sudjelovanja u zaštiti prirode