| dc.description.abstract | The aim of this study was to observe the total of Staphylococcus aureus in chicken meat sold in markets in South Tangerang City. This study was conducted using survey method by interviewing the vendors of chicken meat as respondents and observation the condition of marketplaces using questionnaires and sampling the chicken meat for laboratory examination. Total of 24 chicken meat samples was obtained purposively from 3 traditional markets, i.e., Pasar Modern, Pasar Bukit, and Pasar Jombang, and was examined with the spread plate method (the plate count method). The result of observation showed that Pasar Modern had the best criteria of general hygienic practices. Nevertheless, the laboratory result found that the chicken meat samples from Pasar Modern showed the highest amount of S. aureus (1116.0 + 1461.0 cfu/gram) and it was followed by Pasar Bukit (618.2 + 1045.8 cfu/gram) and Pasar Jombang (433.3 + 665.8 cfu/gram), with the mean of 802.5 + 1194.2 cfu/gram. Compared to the maximum limit of microbial contamination according to the Indonesia National Standard (SNI 7688:2009), 80% of chicken samples from Pasar Modern were higher than the standard (maximum limit = 100 cfu/gram), and then 66.7% of samples from Pasar Jombang and 54.5% of samples from Pasar Bukit were higher than the standard. The high number of S. aureus contamination in chicken meat was supposed in relation with inadequate personal hygiene practices and lack of cold chain from poultry processing plant until marketplace. This condition should be considered as a risk of food intoxication for the consumers since the presence of S. aureus in food in high number could produce the toxin which is heat-stable. | en |
