Abstract

FRANCO ANAYA, Piedad Astrith; RAMIREZ MEDINA, Luz Marcela; OROZCO UGARRIZA, Mauricio Ernesto  and  LOPEZ GUTIERREZ, Lersy Ana. Determination of Escherichia Coli and identification of the o157:h7 serotype in pork's meat commercialized in the most important supermarkets in Cartagena, Colombia. Rev. Lasallista Investig. [online]. 2013, vol.10, n.1, pp.91-100. ISSN 1794-4449.

Introduction. Pork meat is a very well regarded food, with high protein content and a good price. It is highly consumed in Cartagena, and this easy commercialization eases that in some cases the meat is not kept and sold under the most strict hygiene conditions. Keeping this meat under inadequate conditions brings infectious agents and an exaggerated number of microorganisms that create a public health problem. Objective. Determine E. coli and identify the O157:H7 serotype in pork meat commercialized in Cartagena's supermarkets during August and September, 2008. Materials and methods. This research work used a quantitative approach with a descriptive cross-sectional type and a MPN (most probable number) technique according to INVIMA's standards, and the Reveal device was used to identify the O157:H7 serotype. 60 samples of pork meat commercialized in 20 supermarkets in Cartagena were taken. 3 samples were taken in each supermarket, corresponding to three different parts of the animal (lean-rib-chop) in order to have a total of 60 samples. Results. E.coli was found in 36 samples, in unacceptable quantities corresponding to a 60%, and the O157:H7 serotype was found in 17 samples, corresponding to a 28%. Conclusion. 60% of the samples contaminated with E. coli and 28% of the samples that turned out to be positive for the O157:H7 serotype, are not considered as safe for human consumption. This demonstrates that there are deficiencies in the microbial quality of the food commercialized in supermarkets located in Cartagena, thus jeopardizing public health.

Keywords : Escherichia Coli; O157:H7; food handling; diseases transmitted by food; microbial diagnosis.

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