Microbiological Quality and Safety of Fresh Quail Meat at the Retail Level

The objective of this study was to evaluate the microbiological quality and safety of 37 fresh quail meats. Mesophiles, Pseudomonas spp., Enterobacteriaceae, and staphylococci counts were 5.25 +/- 1.14, 3.92 +/- 1.17, 3.09 +/- 1.02, and 2.80 +/- 0.64 log CFU/g, respectively. Listeria monocytogenes was detected in seven samples (18.92%). Campylobacter jejuni was detected in one sample (2.70%). Clostridium perfringens was not detected in any sample. The dominant bacteria were Pseudomonas spp. (30.46%), Micrococcaceae (19.87%), lactic acid bacteria (14.57%), and Enterobacteriaceae (11.92%). Brochotrix thermosphacta and enterococci were isolated to a lesser extent, 7.28% and 1.99%, respectively. The dominant Enterobacteriaceae found were Escherichia coli (42.53%). ESBL-producing E. coli was detected in one sample (2.70%), showing resistance to 16 antibiotics. Sixteen different Staphylococcus spp. and three Mammaliicoccus spp. were identified, the most common being S. cohnii (19.86%) and M. sciuri (17.02%). S. aureus and S. epidermidis were also found in one and four samples, respectively. Methicillin-resistant M. sciuri and S. warneri were found in 13.51% and 10.81% of quail samples, respectively. These bacteria showed an average of 6.20 and 18.50 resistances per strain, respectively. The high resistance observed in ESBL-producing E. coli and methicillin-resistant S. warneri is of special concern. Measures should be adopted to reduce the contamination of quail meat.