Evaluation of the impact of the refrigerated transp ort of pig carcasses loaded above 7°C on their microbial quality and safety

According to the European Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, carcasses must be chilled in the slaughterhouse along a continuous decreasing chilli ng curve, to ensure a maximal core temperature of 7 °C before transport. However, higher temperatures can be authorized by national competent authorities, and t he French Ministry of Agriculture has already allowed 2 hours duration transports for pig carcasses loaded at a maximum core temperature of 12°C. The aim of this study was to further investigate alternative core temperatures and transport durations while guarantying an acceptable microbiological quality o f the transported pig carcasses. Data on the core and surface temperature evolution during cooling and transportation were collected in 5 French slaughterhouses from 183 different carcasses, standardized in terms of weight and lean meat percentage. A total of 908 temperature kinetics was generated and predictive microbiology models were used to simulate the growth of E. coli , Pseudomonas , Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes on the carcasses. These simulations based on the surface temperature took also into account the variability related to t he pH and water activity of the carcasses as well as the strain variability related to the microbial behavior. The results of the 80 0000 simulations showed that the increases in the microbial population caused by the transport of carcasses experimentally loaded at a c ore temperature above 12°C remained lower than the microbial variability of pig carcass contamination measured in France after slaughter. Complementary investigations are conducted to identify acceptable maximal temperature at loading and maximal transport duration for pig carcasses.