PANORAMA DA QUALIDADE MICROBIOLÓGICA DE CARNES NO BRASIL E O IMPACTO DOS PROGRAMAS DE AUTOCONTROLE EM ESTABELECIMENTOS SOB INSPEÇÃO MUNICIPAL

Abstract

Foodborne diseases (FBD), often associated with the consumption of meat products contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms, represent an important public health problem and a permanent challenge for official inspection services of products of animal origin in Brazil. The country’s relevance as a major producer and consumer of beef, pork and poultry intensifies the need for effective hygienic-sanitary control systems in a scenario marked by structural heterogeneity between regions, the presence of informal marketing segments and different levels of organization of inspection services (federal, state and municipal). In this context, Self-Control Programs (SCP) - which encompass Good Manufacturing Practices, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points - constitute a central tool for managing microbiological risks and achieving equivalence between inspection spheres, in line with the guidelines of the Brazilian Unified System of Agricultural Health Surveillance and related programs. Therefore, this study aimed to provide an overview of the microbiological quality of meat products in Brazil and to analyze the relationship between the stage of SCP implementation and official laboratory results in establishments under municipal inspection. A literature review was carried out using the Google Scholar database, covering articles published between 2019 and 2024, and an observational study was conducted in 18 establishments under the Municipal Inspection Service of Rio Verde, Goiás, relating the SCP implementation status to non-conformities and to microbiological and physicochemical results of meat products. The findings revealed strong regional heterogeneity, with higher non-compliance rates in meat sold at open-air markets and informal outlets in the North and Northeast regions, intermediate performance in the Center-West, and better indicators in the South and Southeast, where more structured production chains and greater presence of formal inspection predominate. It was also observed that establishments with absent or incipient SCPs concentrated most microbiological non-conformities, whereas those with more advanced implementation showed superior sanitary performance. Taken together, the results indicate that effective implementation of SCPs, associated with the strengthening of municipal inspection services and the expansion of the integration of local systems into national equivalence schemes, is strategic to reduce regional sanitary asymmetries, enhance public health protection and strengthen the competitiveness of Brazilian meat products in domestic and international markets.