Investigation of Campylobacter contamination in commercial livestock and poultry meat products in Yunnan, 2016−2022

Objective To understand the contamination status of Campylobacter in livestock and poultry meats in markets in Yunnan province and provide evidence for the prevention and control of foodborne diseases.

Methods Livestock and poultry meat samples were randomly collected in 16 areas in Yunnan from 2016 to 2022 for the detection of Campylobacter and the results were statistically analyzed according to the meat categories, years, areas, and sampling sites.

Results The overall detection rate of Campylobacter was 9.21% (178/1932), and the detection rates of C. jejuni and C. coli were 5.75% (111/1932) and 3.47% (67/1932), respectively. The Campylobacter detection rate in poultry meat (11.42%, 160/1401) was higher than that in livestock meat (3.39%, 18/531), the difference was significant (χ²=31.521, P<0.001). The differences in Campylobacter detection rate were significant among the fresh meat, cooled meat and frozen meat (χ²=38.975, P<0.001). The detection rate in cooled meat was highest (16.67%, 39/234), followed by fresh meat (9.34%, 134/1434) and frozen meat (1.89%, 5/264). The differences in detection rate of Campylobacter were significant among the samples collected in different years (χ²=26.597, P<0.001; χ²=33.466, P<0.001 for C. jejuni; χ²=20.928, P<0.001 for C. coli), with the highest detection rate in 2018 (13.05%, 65/498) and the lowest detection rate in 2021 (1.22%, 2/164). The difference in detection rate of Campylobacter between non-packed meat and pre-packed meats was not significant (χ²=3.703, P=0.054). However, the detection rate of Campylobacter varied significantly in the samples from different areas (P<0.001;P<0.001 for C. jejuni; P<0.001 for C. coli). Campylobacter was mainly detected in the samples from online stores and wholesale markets, and the differences in Campylobacter detection rate were significant among the samples from different trading channels (χ²=26.218, P<0.001; χ²=18.081, P=0.001 for C. jejuni; χ²=11.188, P=0.017 for C. coli). The differences in detection rate of Campylobacter were significant among different quarters (χ²=8.029, P=0.045), with the highest detection rate in the fourth quarter.

Conclusion  Campylobacter contamination existed to some extent in livestock and poultry meat products in Yunnan. It is suggested to improve the storage and transportation conditions of meat products and strengthen the supervision and risk monitoring of livestock and poultry products in the circulation.