Investigation of enterohemorrhagic escherichia coli (EHEC) and salmonella species in hamburger meat

Hamburger patties are generally consumed by rapid heat treatment and may cause the transmission of some important bacterial agents depending on the animal sources from which the patties are made. This study was conducted to investigate EHEC and Salmonella bacteria, which are important zoonotic agents transmitted from hamburger meat. In the study, a meat and a chicken hamburger were ordered from 60 different hamburger shops in Gaziantep as normal customers, and pieces were taken from different parts of the meat (edge and middle parts) of the requested meal with a toothpick and placed in ependorf tubes containing 2 mL of sterile saline. A total of 240 samples (120 meat and 120 chicken) were collected. The samples were delivered to the laboratory within 1 hour. After the samples were homogenised by vortex, 1 aliquot was taken and sown on EMB agar and Sorbitol Mac Conkey agar. After incubation at 37 °C for 24-48 hours, the grown bacteria were identified conventionally. No growth was detected in 40 (33.3%) of the 120 meat samples and 47 (39.2%) of the chicken samples, while at least one bacterial growth was detected in 66.7% of the meat samples and 60.8% of the chicken samples. EHEC and Salmonella spp. were not detected in any of the samples. Bacillus spp. was found in 50 (41.7%) and 29 (24.2%), E.coli in 30 (25%) and 42 (35%), Klebsiella spp. in 11 (9.2%) and 11 (9.2%), Proteus spp. in 3 (2.5%) and 4 (3.3%) meat and chicken samples, respectively. Bacillus spp. growth rate was significantly higher in meat samples than in chicken samples. The results of our study indicate that contamination of ready-to-eat hamburger patties with pathogenic microorganisms continues to be a public health risk. Therefore, effective food hygiene and safety systems are necessary to protect the health of consumers and the public as a whole. Key words: Hamburger, Enterohemorrhagic E. coli, Salmonella