Influence of biosafety protocols adopted for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 in slaughterhouses and a positive effect on the reduction of Staphylococcus aureus presence in beef cuts

ABSTRACT

Staphylococcus aureus is a food quality indicator microorganism commonly found in human mucous membranes. With the emergence of the virus related to SARS-CoV-2, several prevention protocols were established. Therefore, this study assessed whether the adoption of SARS-CoV-2 protocols influenced the presence of S. aureus in beef samples. We analyzed the S. aureus results of 3654 beef samples between April and September 2019 and 2020. Mean percentages of the population of S. aureus were different between years (2.63%-2019;1.13%-2020), revealing that after the adoption of the SARS-CoV-2 protocols there was a decrease in the presence of S. aureus. Concomitantly, a significant difference was also presented in the annual means of S. aureus load counts (2.30 log of CFU/g in 2019, and 1.60 log of CFU/g in 2020), of the sets of beef samples analyzed. Therefore, we suggest that the measures used to prevent SARS-CoV-2 can continue to be applied even after the pandemic, especially in the stages that involve beef handling in slaughterhouses.