Influence of different periods of pre-slaughter fasting on microbiological quality of bullfrog carcasses (Lithobates catesbeianus)

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different periods of pre-slaughter fasting (F1: 2 to 24 hours and F2: 48 to 72 hours) on the counts of hygiene indicator microorganisms and the presence of Salmonella spp. in carcasses of bullfrogs. Two different stages of the slaughter process were analyzed: after bleeding (A) and after the final carcasses cleaning (B). Samples from each fasting period were analyzed to count hygiene indicator microorganisms (n=30) and Salmonella spp. (n=140). For aerobic mesophilic microorganisms, the variation in fasting periods caused a reduction of 0.69 log10 CFU / g (P0.05) between the fasting analyzed periods. Considering the presence of E. coli, it was observed that F2 resulted in a reduction of 30% (P