TABLE 5. E. coli and total viable counts (TVC) of knives1 rinsed then sanitized in 8°C water — adapted from Eustace et al. 2007 (13) Station Sticking Briskets Forequarters Heads off Ventral cut Tail trim Neck trim Bung drop Pluck removal Evisceration Viscera inspection Separate runners Pluck table Totals and means 1 E. coli* 0 2 1 1 0 3 0 6 3 4 1 1 2 24/130 Mean log TVC/cm2 (SD) 0.73 (0.74) 2.13 (0.94) 2.46 (1.33) 2.03 (1.08) 1.07 (0.59) 1.70 (1.36) 2.07 (0.63) 1.83 (1.39) 2.02 (0.19) 1.81 (0.77) 2.41 (0.90) 1.95 (0.73) 3.12 (0.22) 1.95 (1.01) Blades swabbed with Whirlpak sponges; E. coli enumerated on E. coli/Coliform Petrifilm at 37°C for 2 days, TVCs on APC Petrifilm at 20–25°C for 3 days Number of knives testing positive for E. coli out of 10 knives sampled at each station * TABLE 6. E. coli and total viable counts (TVCs) of knives1 rinsed then sanitized in 82°C water on a pig slaughter floor — source: Reyes-Veliz, (pers. comm.) Station Shaving Bung and testes Gutting Trotter removal Backing off Final trim Totals and means 1 E. coli* 5 0 1 1 0 0 7/30 Mean log TVC/cm2 3.46 (0.29) 1.65 (0.82) 0.64 (0.31) 1.15 (0.64) 3.52 (0.18) 1.49 (0.99) 1.98 (1.26) Blades swabbed with Whirlpak sponges; E. coli enumerated on E. coli/Coliform Petrifilm at 37°C for 2 days, TVCs on APC Petrifilm at 20–25°C for 3 days Number of knives testing positive for E. coli out of 5 knives sampled at each station * 718 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | OCTOBER 2008