Prevalence, Biofilm Formation, and Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella Isolates from Goat Meat Marketed in Petrolina, Brazil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and antibacterial resistance and biofilm formation by bacterial strains isolated from raw goat meat sold in street fairs (SF) and commercial establishments (CE) in Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil. SF samples had mesophilic aerobic bacteria counts of 3.71 to 7.57 log CFU/g, S. aureus counts of 1.78 to 5.38 log CFU/g, total coliform counts of 2.3 × 10¹ to >1.1 × 10³ most probable number (MPN)/g, thermotolerant coliform counts of 1.1 × 10³ MPN/g, and Escherichia coli counts of 1.1 × 10³ MPN/g. CE samples had mesophilic aerobic bacteria counts of 2.90 to 6.00 CFU/g, S. aureus counts of 2.00 to 4.49 log CFU/g, total coliform counts of 2.3 × 10¹ to >1.1 × 10³ MPN/g, thermotolerant coliform counts of 3.0 to >1.1 × 10³ MPN/g, and E. coli counts of 1.1 × 10³ MPN/g. Salmonella was detected in 25% of SF and CE samples. All isolates of S. aureus and Salmonella and 95.6% of E. coli isolates were biofilm producers. Resistance to multiple drugs was found in isolates of Salmonella, E. coli, and S. aureus from SF and CE samples. Goat meat marketed in Petrolina is heavily contaminated with pathogenic bacteria resistant to multiple drugs and capable of biofilm formation.