Assessment of lamb carcass hygiene before and after chilling at five Irish abattoirs

The aim of this study was to monitor the potential influence of chilling on total viable counts (TVC’s), Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella on lamb carcasses. Chilling reduced TVC’s on 40% of carcasses, while counts remained unchanged on 2% and increased on 58%. Enterobacteriaceae counts were reduced on 51% of carcasses, unchanged on 23% and increased on 26%. Salmonella was not detected on carcasses before chilling and on 0.25% of carcasses after chilling. The influence of chilling on carcass categorisation according to the performance criteria set down by Commission Regulation 2073/2005 suggests that it can potentially improve the numbers of acceptable carcasses.