Presence of and spp. in lamb meat commercialized in Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary quality of lamb meat sold in the city of Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul (RS) by counting the indicator microorganisms and detecting pathogens such as spp. and . Thirty-nine lamb meat samples were collected from 10 commercial establishments in Uruguaiana. The samples were subjected to counts of aerobic mesophilic microorganisms and enterobacteria, and to the detection of spp. and , all following standard methods. The average counts of mesophilic microorganisms and enterobacteria were 6.08 log CFU/g (minimum 4.07 and max 6.87) and 4.73 log CFU/g (minimum 0 and max 5.88), respectively. For pathogens, was isolated from five samples (12.82%), with three samples in the same location. Only two samples (5.13%) were positive for spp. The results demonstrated unsatisfactory hygienic-sanitary conditions because high counts of pathogens such as spp. and . The counts of enterobacteria showed poor hygiene conditions during the various stages of production. The results also indicated fecal contamination, as spp. and are present in the intestinal tract of both humans and animals. The high count of mesophilic microorganisms obtained could be owing to contaminated raw material or unsatisfactory processing, including unsanitary conditions and the inappropriate use of binomial time/temperature during storage.