{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T13:03:13Z","timestamp":1789390993922,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"PAGEPress Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789344000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Ital J Food Safety"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Bovine hind\u00a0hocks\u00a0represent a critical\u00a0contamination site during\u00a0slaughter due to their complex anatomical\u00a0structure and exposure to organic\u00a0contamination. Therefore, this\u00a0pilot study assessed the effect of a targeted\u00a0potable water rinsing treatment applied\u00a0immediately\u00a0after\u00a0distal\u00a0pre-skinning on microbiological\u00a0indicators and macroscopic\u00a0contamination under commercial slaughterhouse conditions. Ten\u00a0carcasses\u00a0were\u00a0assigned to the treated (T) group (manual\u00a0potable water rinse\u00a0at 4-6 bar for 5 seconds per limb), while 10 were\u00a0assigned to the control (C) group. For each group, the same\u00a0carcasses\u00a0were\u00a0sampled\u00a0at the beginning of the slaughter line (BSL) immediately\u00a0after\u00a0distal\u00a0pre-skinning\u00a0and at the end of the slaughter line (ESL) by sponge\u00a0swabbing 6 predefined\u00a0hock\u00a0sites to quantify\u00a0total\u00a0viable\u00a0count (TVC), Escherichia coli and Enterobacteriaceae, and to detect the presence of Salmonella\u00a0spp. and Shiga\u00a0toxin-producing\u00a0E. coli. A visual\u00a0assessment of macroscopic\u00a0defects\u00a0was\u00a0performed on 800 hocks (400 per group).\nThe T group showed\u00a0significantly\u00a0greater\u00a0reductions\u00a0than the C group for TVC (-1.16 vs. -0.60 log10 CFU\/cm\u00b2), E. coli (-0.79 vs. -0.37 log10 CFU\/cm\u00b2), and Enterobacteriaceae (-0.49 vs. -0.01 log10 CFU\/cm\u00b2). Pathogens\u00a0detected\u00a0at BSL were\u00a0not\u00a0detected\u00a0at ESL in either group. Visual non-compliances\u00a0were lower in the T than the C group (9.8% vs. 24.8%; p&lt;0.001).\nWithin the limitations of this single-plant pilot study, localized hind hock rinsing appears to be a promising supplementary process hygiene intervention associated with reduced microbiological indicators and visible contamination. Further multi-site validation is warranted.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4081\/ijfs.2026.15889","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T12:11:55Z","timestamp":1789387915000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["&lt;a&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;a&gt;Effectiveness of hind hock rinsing as a process hygiene intervention in bovine slaughter&lt;\/a&gt;"],"prefix":"10.4081","author":[{"given":"Riccardo","family":"Torricelli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Inalca S.p.A., Castelvetro di Modena"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-2409-8543","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Silvia","family":"Vianello","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna, Brescia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1042-9268","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Alfonso","family":"Rosamilia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna, Brescia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marco","family":"Marzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Inalca S.p.A., Castelvetro di Modena"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2549","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"251339","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alvseike O, R\u00f8ssvoll E, R\u00f8tterud O-J, Nesbakken T, Skjerve E, Prieto M, Sandberg M, Johannessen G, \u00d8kland M, Urdahl AM, Hauge SJ, 2019. Slaughter hygiene in European cattle and sheep abattoirs assessed by microbiological testing and Hygiene Performance Rating. Food Control 101:233-40.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2019.01.033"},{"key":"251340","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Barboza de Martinez Y, Ferrer K, Salas EM, 2002. Combined effects of lactic acid and nisin solution in reducing levels of microbiological contamination in red meat carcasses. J Food Prot 65:1780-3.","DOI":"10.4315\/0362-028X-65.11.1780"},{"key":"251341","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Barco L, Belluco S, Roccato A, Ricci A, 2015. A systematic review of studies on Escherichia coli and Enterobacteriaceae on beef carcasses at the slaughterhouse. Int J Food Microbiol 207:33-9.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.04.027"},{"key":"251342","unstructured":"Barhoum S, Mergenthaler M, Paulsen P, Klein G, 2026. Microbiological assessment of carcass surfaces and bacteriological examination of organs from mobile slaughtered cattle in Germany. Meat Sci 231:109852."},{"key":"251343","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bell RG, 1997. Distribution and sources of microbial contamination on beef carcasses. J Appl Microbiol, 82:292-300.","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1365-2672.1997.00356.x"},{"key":"251344","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Blagojevi\u0107 B, Anti\u0107 D, 2014. Assessment of potential contribution of official meat inspection and abattoir process hygiene to biological safety assurance of final beef and pork carcasses. Food Control 36:174-82.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2013.08.018"},{"key":"251345","unstructured":"Commission of the European Communities, 2005. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073\/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs. In: Official Journal, L 338\/1, 22\/12\/2005."},{"key":"251346","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"EFSA, ECDC, 2025. The European Union One Health 2024 Zoonoses Report. EFSA J 23:e9759.","DOI":"10.2903\/j.efsa.2025.9759"},{"key":"251347","unstructured":"European Commission, 2019. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019\/627 of 15 March 2019 laying down uniform practical arrangements for the performance of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption. In: Official Journal, L 131\/51, 17\/05\/2019."},{"key":"251348","unstructured":"European Parliament, Council of the European Union, 2004. Regulation (EC) No 853\/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin. In: Official Journal, L 139\/55, 30\/04\/2004."},{"key":"251349","unstructured":"European Parliament, Council of the European Union, 2017. Regulation (EU) 2017\/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products. In: Official Journal, L95\/1, 7\/04\/2017."},{"key":"251350","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gill CO, Landers C, 2003. Microbiological effects of carcass decontaminating treatments at four beef packing plants. Meat Sci 65:1005-11.","DOI":"10.1016\/S0309-1740(02)00319-4"},{"key":"251351","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gill CO, Landers C, 2004. Microbiological conditions of detained beef carcasses before and after removal of visible contamination. Meat Sci 66:335-42.","DOI":"10.1016\/S0309-1740(03)00108-6"},{"key":"251352","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gill CO, McGinnis JC, Bryant, J, 1998. Microbial contamination of meat during the skinning of beef carcass hindquarters at three slaughtering plants. Intl J Food Microbiol 42:175-84.","DOI":"10.1016\/S0168-1605(98)00074-9"},{"key":"251353","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hauge SJ, Nafstad O, Rotterud O, Nesbakken T, 2012. The hygienic impact of categorisation of cattle by hide cleanliness in the abattoir. Food Control 27:100-7.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2012.03.004"},{"key":"251354","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hochreutener M, Zweifel C, Corti S, Stephan R, 2017. Effect of a commercial steam-vacuuming treatment implemented after slaughtering for the decontamination of cattle carcasses. Ital J Food Saf 6:6593.","DOI":"10.4081\/ijfs.2017.6864"},{"key":"251355","unstructured":"ISO 2012. Microbiology of food and animal feed. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for the detection of Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and the determination of O157, O111, O26, O103 and O145 serogroups. ISO\/TS 13136:2012. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland."},{"key":"251356","unstructured":"ISO, 2015. Microbiology of the food chain. Carcass sampling for microbiological analysis. ISO Norm 17604:2015. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland."},{"key":"251357","unstructured":"ISO, 2016. Microbiology of the food chain. Method validation. Part 2: Protocol for the validation of alternative (proprietary) methods against a reference method. ISO Norm 16140-2:2016. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland."},{"key":"251358","unstructured":"ISO, 2017. Microbiology of the food chain. Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and serotyping of Salmonella. Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp. ISO Norm 6579-1:2017. 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