Sanitary quality and bacteriological antibiotic-resistance pattern of frozen raw chicken meat sold in retail market in Benin

To cover the meat needs of its population, Benin imports large quantities of raw frozen chicken meat from the European Union, United States and Brazil. Consumers can purchase this meat either in open markets (OM) or in frozen meat retail stores (FMRS). The present study aimed to assess the safety of imported raw chicken sold in Benin and the antibiotics susceptibility of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas spp. isolates retrieved from these foodstuffs. Seventy-two samples of imported raw chicken (36 from OM and 36 from FMRS) were randomly purchased from different retail outlets in May 2021 and May 2023 and analyzed using standard microbiological methods. Fifty-two, 36 and 58 isolates of E. coli, S. aureus and Pseudomonas spp., respectively, were tested for their susceptibility to antimicrobials. Aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) and Pseudomonas spp. were the most frequent and dominant flora with density reaching 9.4 and 7.5 Log(10 )CFU/g, respectively. The highest microbial load recorded for E. coli, S. aureus, Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were 7.0, 4.6, 3.7, 2.4 and 1.4 Log10 CFU/g, respectively, while 73.6, 55.5, 33.3, 2.8 and 1.4 % of the samples tested positive for these bacteria, respectively. None of the samples contained Salmonella spp. Samples collected in OM had concentrations of AMB, Pseudomonas spp., S. aureus and E. coli significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those from FMRS. Moreover, samples collected in OM in 2023 have significantly higher AMB and E. coli microbial loads (p < 0.05) than those collected in 2021, while there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between samples collected in FMRS over the two sampling periods. The frequencies of multidrug resistant (MDR) E. coli, S. aureus and Pseudomonas spp. were 21.2, 36.1 and 32.8 %, respectively. This study highlights the fact that frozen chicken meat purchased by consumers from retailers in Benin is not always of good quality, with a health risk related to S. aureus and/or L. monocytogenes, emphasizing the need for improvements in hygienic and preservation practices. In addition, this study revealed that imported frozen chicken meat can be a potential source of MDR bacteria.