Abstract
Contamination of meat at the retail level is very common. The presence of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae on the meat surface will render the meat unsafe to the consumer as they are encountered in causing food poisoning and also they reflect the hygienic standard of the butchers' shops. The current study was done to evaluate the microbiological status of retailed meat of cattle and buffaloes with special concern to Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and Salmonella. A total of 100 random samples of meat of cattle and buffaloes (50 of each) were collected from different butchers' shops at Behera province. The samples were evaluated bacteriologically with a trial to isolate some enteric pathogens of public health significance. The obtained results revealed that the mean values of total Enterobacteriaceae count in examined meat samples of cattle and buffaloes were 1.4 X 104±1.4 X 103 and 2.7 X 104± 3.3 X 103 cfu/g, respectively. Also, the mean values of total Coliform count in cattle and buffaloes meat samples were 1.5 X 104±1.4 X 103, 1.8 X104± 1.8 X 103 cfu/g, respectively. In addition, isolation and identification of enteric bacteria revealed that the isolation of E. coli, Salmonella species, Enterobacter aerogenes. Enterobacter intermedium, Enterobacter gergoviae, Citrobacter amalonaticus, Citrobacter diversus, Citrobacter freundii, Serratia marcescens, Serratia ficaria, Serratia fonticola, Serratia liquefaciens. Serratia rubidaea, Edwardsiclla ictalori, Edwardsiella hoshinae, Providencia alcalifaciens, Providencia stuartii, Klebsiella pneumonia subspecies ozaenae, Proteus mirabilis. Concerning EPEC, it was found that it was detected in 32% and 40% of the examined meat samples of cattle and buffaloes, respectively. Furthermore, the serological identification of the obtained isolates of EPEC revealed the presence of the following serotypes O55: K59, O111:K58, O114:K96, O111:K69, O125:K70, O126:K71, O127:K63. On the other side, the obtained results revealed the isolation of Salmonella species at the percentage of 4 and 8 in the examined meat samples of cattle and buffaloes, respectively. Furthermore, the serological identification of the obtained isolates of Salmonella revealed the presence of S. Typhi, S. Enteritidis and S. Paratyphi. On basis of the obtained results it was observed that meat of buffaloes was more contaminated with all members of Enterobacteriaceae than meat of cattle so strict hygienic measures should be considered during slaughtering, transportation and handling of meat till reach safe for consumers.

Key words: Enterobacteriaceae, isolation, identification, meat, cattle, buffaloes