Metagenomic analysis targeted on the 16S ribosomal DNA to study the quality of meat : a example with raw minced beef meat

Introduction: Steak tartare is a popular meat dish in Belgium and some other European countries. This meat preparations due to their raw nature, is highly sensitive to bacterial spoilage. A better understanding of the bacterial content of this product will thus be insightful to control the risk of spoilage. Metagenomics targeted on the 16S ribosomal DNA has appeared as a powerful tool to study bacterial composition of food samples. The aim of this study is to identify the bacterial population sof steak tartare from different origin along their shelf life.
Material and methods: A total of 59 samples were analysed from seven butcheries, six restaurants, six sandwich bars, 8 supermarkets without intern butcheries and 8 supermarkets with intern butcheries. Samples where directly analysed the day of receipt (day 0) and at the end their shelf life after storage at 4°C (day 2), except for six restaurants and sandwich bars who were analysed only at day 0. Classical microbiological analyses were performed in order to determine psychotrophic aerobic colony counts using modified ISO 4833 method. Metagenomic analysis targeting the 16S rDNA was performed using the Roche GS junior. Raw sequences were treated by bioinformatics in order to obtain identification and proportion of bacteria in food sample.
Results: Remarkable differences appear between the origins of steaks tartare. The bacterial concentration is between 3 and 7 log CFU/g depending of the origin and the day of analysis. The samples from the butcheries are mainly composed of Lactobacillus populations and to a lesser extend of environmental contaminants like Xanthomonas campestris. On the opposite, the samples from some of the restaurants are contaminated with an estimated level of 6 to 7 log CFU/g of Brochotrix thersmosphacta, Leuconostocaceae like Leuconostoc carnosum or an uncultured Weissella sp., or, with a lesser extend, with some contaminants like Pseudomonas sp. or Psychrobacter sp. These last samples were characterized with some spoilage characteristics (slime, off odor) that can thus be put in relation with the identified bacterial populations. The samples from sandwich bars were characterized by a lower level of bacterial population (3-4 log CFU/g), but with a greater diversity in the microflora along with a higher number of environmental contaminants that are not usually found in meat products. The products at the end of the shelf life have a higher bacterial concentration but with a lower diversity with spoiled bacteria as Brochotrix thermosphacta.
Significance: Compared to culture based methods on selective media and previous independent culture techniques, metagenomic analysis combined with the enumeration of psychrotrophic flora gives more valuable information, and its use should be considered as a technique for quality control or for accurately determining the shelf life and the quality of the meat.