Listeria spp. no processamento de lingüiça frescal em frigoríficos de Pelotas, RS, Brasil

Food that is highly manipulated, such as fresh sausages, is frequently responsible for spreading food borne diseases. Due to the threat that the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes represents to public health, the aim of this work was to study the presence of Listeria spp., especially Listeria monocytogenes, during processing of fresh sausages, in three slaughterhouses with state food inspection, in the city of Pelotas, Brazil. The raw material used for the sausage elaboration, the equipment used in the processing and the end products were analyzed. The results showed Listeria spp. in 100% of the 41 samples analyzed. Among the different species, L. innocua was the most frequent, isolated from 97.6% of the samples, followed by the L. monocytogenes and L. welshimeri that were isolated from 29.3% and 24.4% of the samples, respectively. The presence of these microorganisms in the samples analyzed, especially in the end product, shows the need for adequateness of the cleaning and sanitation practices of the food processing plants analyzed. It also shows a potential risk of listeriosis to the consumer.