Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Preventive Veterinary Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/prevetmed Comprehensive evaluation and implementation of improvement actions in bovine abattoirs to reduce pathogens exposure Magdalena Costa a, *, Gabriela Pracca b , Adriana Sucari d , Lucía Galli a , José Ibargoyen c , Jimena Gentiluomo d , Victoria Brusa a , Matías Martinez Zugazua b , Yamila Figueroa d , Alejandra Londero a , Ariel Roge e , Hernán Silva b , Claudia Van Der Ploeg e , Marcelo Signorini f , Juan M. Oteiza g , Gerardo A. Leotta a a IGEVET – Instituto de Genética Veterinaria “Ing. Fernando N. Dulout” (UNLP-CONICET LA PLATA), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias Av. 60 y 118 s/n. CC: 296 UNLP (1900), La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina b Dirección Provincial de Carnes, Ministerio de Agroindustria de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Calle 12 y 51, (1900) La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina c Dirección de Leche, Productos Lácteos y Derivados, Ministerio de Agroindustria de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Calle 12 y 51, (1900) La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina d División Higiene y Seguridad Alimentaria y Ambiental, Stamboulian Servicios de Salud, Loyola 414 (1414), Buenos Aires, Argentina e Servicio Antígenos y Antisueros, Instituto Nacional de Producción de Biológicos, Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán”, Av. Vélez Sarsfield 563, (1282), Buenos Aires, Argentina f EEA RAFAELA - Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela (CR SANTA FE-CONICET, INTA – Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria), Ruta 34 Km 227, (2300) Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina g Laboratorio de Microbiología de los Alimentos, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia Técnica a la Industria (CIATI A.C.), Expedicionarios del Desierto 1310, (8309), Centenario, Neuquén, Argentina ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Risk estimation Salmonella spp. Escherichia coli Abattoirs Meat ABSTRACT The slaughter process plays an important role in animal welfare, meat quality, safety and public health through the meat production chain. In this study, we performed a three-stage evaluation: I) comprehensive evaluation, II) implementation of improvement actions and III) verification of the success of the actions implemented in three abattoirs from Argentina during 2016-2018. Risk was estimated using two checklists, quantified on a 1–100 scale and classified as high (1–40), moderate (41–70) and low (71–100). In stages I and III, Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 STEC were detected and isolated in samples from carcasses (n = 252), the environment (n = 252); head meat (n = 21) and viscera washing and chilling water (n = 105). Carcass samples were analyzed for mesophilic aerobic organisms, coliforms and E. coli enumeration. Of 201 water samples taken, 42.0–75.6 % were non-potable quality. After the implementation of improvement actions in stage II (building, processes, systems for water purification and training), the estimation of risk of contamination was reduced from high to moderate in all three abattoirs, the count of indicator microorganisms decreased in two abattoirs, and the presence of pathogens significantly decreased. Salmonella spp. was not isolated from any of the samples collected in two abattoirs. Isolation of E. coli O157:H7 decreased in carcass and was not isolated from viscera washing and chilling water. Isolation of non-O157 STEC decreased in carcass but not in environmental samples. Finally, 75.0–95.0 % of water samples were of potable quality. Although this was only the first step in the process of change and improvement of abattoirs, the assessment of the situation and the proposal of solutions to correct deviations in a joint effort with the health authorities helped to implement a work model for enhancing food safety before meat reaches consumers. 1. Introduction The slaughter process plays an important role in animal welfare, meat quality, safety and public health through the meat production chain (Aghwan, 2019). During slaughtering, carcasses can be contaminated with foodborne pathogens directly by feces, in the pro- cess of evisceration, from contaminated hides, when they are removed during the dressing process, and as a result of cross contamination with other carcasses and line or cool chamber surfaces (Bosilevac et al., 2015; Brusa et al., 2019). Contamination can also occur through direct https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.104933 Received 17 October 2019; Received in revised form 22 January 2020; Accepted 17 February 2020 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: mcosta@igevet.gob.ar (M. Costa). Preventive Veterinary Medicine 176 (2020) 104933 0167-5877/ © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. T