QUALITY AND SAFETY OF PET TREATS: ASSESSMENT OF THE MICROBIAL SAFETY AND QUALITY OF PET TREATS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hygienic and sanitary conditions of pet treats from an export industry. The occurrence of Salmonella, enumerated sulfite-reducing Clostridium (SRC), coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (CPS) and total (TC)and thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) was studied. Of the 108 samples analyzed, 22 were contaminated by some microorganism. TC were detected at two samples (3.5 x 10(1) and 4.5 x 10(1) colony-forming units [cfu]/g), SRC in 19 samples (1.0 x 10(1) to 1.3 x 10(5) cfu/g) and Salmonella spp. at only one sample; CPS and TTC were not detected. These findings indicate the microbiological safety of most items, except for a mix of dried bovine offal, with 1.3 x 105 cfu/g of SRC, and one mix of dehydrated bovine viscera contaminated with Salmonella. The current production processes and the food safety management system are adequate to guarantee the production of microbiologically safe foods, but that some improvements can still be made with regard to cleaning and disinfection and hygiene training.