Quality of Microbial Contamination of Distributed Hamburgers in Tabriz

 Ensuring hamburgers' microbial safety is crucial for consumers' well-being. This study aimed to assess the microbial quality of hamburgers served in Tabriz City.

 During the months of January to March 2022, a total of 50 hamburger samples were collected from supply centers in Tabriz City. These included 25 samples of industrial hamburgers and 25 samples of traditional hamburgers, selected at random. The microbial culture method was used to determine the total bacterial count, level of Salmonella contamination, and presence of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, mold, and yeast. Chi-square and t-tests were used for statistical analysis.

 The average amount of total bacterial count, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, mold, and yeast in industrial hamburgers was 4.87±0.14, 0.31±0.21, 0.27±0.11, 0.46±0.16 (log cfu/g), respectively, and in traditional hamburgers, they were 5.90±0.16, 0.95±0.33, 1.18±0.24 and 2.75±0.28 (log cfu/g), respectively. None of the samples were infected with Salmonella. Furthermore, when it comes to unauthorized samples, the industrial hamburgers had an 8% total bacterial count and an 8% coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus count. There were no observations of contamination exceeding permitted levels with Escherichia coli, mold, or yeast. Nearly half of all traditional hamburgers (48%) had unauthorized samples with high bacterial counts, while 16% have coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus, 16% have Escherichia coli, and 28% have mold and yeast contamination. In the comparison, traditional hamburgers showed higher amounts of contamination than industrial hamburgers.

 Microbial contamination in traditional hamburger samples was more than the industrial hamburger. According to the results, regular and periodic control is recommended for the microbial quality of hamburgers consumed in Tabriz City.