A comparative study of microbial load, chemical and sensory characteristics of camel meats collected from supermarkets and butcher shops

Abstract

This study was set out to identify microbial load, chemical, and sensory characteristics of camel meats collected in
the winter and summer seasons from both butchery shops and supermarkets butcheries. On day 0, the viable cell
count, Pseudomonas count, Streptococcus fecal, coliform fecal count, Staphylococcus count and Staphylococcus
aureus were higher in the summer as compared with winter season. Also, the data showed that the numbers of
microorganisms were affected by seasoning and storage temperature. On day 0, the total viable count in camel
meat sample collected in the winter and summer was 5.6 and 6 log10 CFU/g and increased to 6.7 and 8.4 log10
CFU/g, respectively after 48 h of storage at refrigerator temperature 7±1°C. Pseudomonas count in winter and
summer samples on day 0 was 4.4 and 7.5 log 10 CFU/g, respectively. After 48 h of storage, the Pseudomonas count
increased and reached 6.2 and 7.7 log10 CFU/g. Streptococcus fecal count in winter and summer sample was 3 and
4.2, and increased to 3.4 and 5.1 log10 CFU/g during storage at 7±1°C, respectively. Coliform fecal co unt in winter
and summer sample was 2.4 and 4.2 but increased to 2.7 in winter sample and decreased to 2 log10 CFU/g in
summer sample. The initial Staphylococcus count in camel meat collected in winter was 3.2 and 5.5 log10 CFU/g in
the summer and reached 3.8 and 5.9 log10 CFU/g after 48 h in the refrigerator temperature. S. aureus count in
winter sample on day 0 was 2.5 and 5.8 log10 CFU/g in summer sample and reached 3.3 and 5.6 log10 CFU/g after
48 h in the refrigerator temperature. There were no significant differences in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances
(TBARS) in camel meat collected in the winter and summer seasons. However, there were significant differences in
TBARS in camel meat collected in supermarkets butchery and from butchery shops. There were significant
differences of lightness, redness and yellowness P≤0.05 after 48 h in storage. However, there were no significant
differences in the meat color of the second and third day of storage. Overall, there were no significant differences
between the results obtained during the summer and winter periods, which means that seasons do not have a
significant impact on the values of Hunter lab instrument.