Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals and Microbial Quality of Beef at Slaughter Houses and Butchers’ Shops in Benue South

Abstract

Meat samples were collected from ten shops at Otukpo main and Tiv market. The objective of the study is to assess heavy metals (HM) concentration, the hygienic practices and microbial quality of meat at slaughterhouses and butchers’ shops in Benue South. The HMs’ concentration was determined using AAS while the safety of meat products was determined by counting Total Viable Bacterial, Total Coliform, Enterobacter, and Staphylococcus spp. From the result of this study, the mean total aerobic mesophilic bacteria range between 2.16-5.43 log10 cfu/g. The cultural characteristics reveal a preponderance of Escherichia coli, E. faecalis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus in most of the study locations. Total coliform count on meat samples from this study in some locations exceeds the recommended set standard of coliform bacteria counts (< 3.0 log cfu/g) according to (FAO, 2007). The concentration of Cd range 0.0010-0.100ppm. Most of the concentrations are below the (FAO) permissible limit of 0.005ppm. Similarly, the concentration of Cr range between < LOD and 0.270 ppm. The concentration of Mn is between <LOD and- 0.070 ppm. The results are below the FAO of 5.00ppm. The concentration of Ni is between 0.00ppm and 0.030ppm while that of Pb is between 0.0309 - 0.185 ppm. The study reveals high microbial load in the meat samples which pose considerable risks to the consuming public.