Prevalence of pathogenic microorganisms in pork meat offered for retail sale in supermarkets of Mexico City

Pork is the most consumed meat in the world but can also be a source of foodborne diseases. The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence of pathogen microorganisms in pork loin muscle from six retail markets in six different demarcations in Mexico City with more than 500 000 inhabitants, analyzing Listeria, Staphylococcus and, Salmonella. The results showed that the prevalence of Listeria monocitogenes was 33.33%. Staphylococcus was detected in 42% of the samples analyzed with an average count of 770 CFU/g. Biochemical identification showed that 20% of isolates corresponded to Staphylococcus aureus. Salmonella sp. had the lowest prevalence with 2.77% of the total samples analyzed. The presence of pathogens in pork meat is an important problem because of their impact on consumer health.