Journal of Environmental Health and Sustainable Development

en Identification of Sarcocystis spp. in Hamburgers Distributed in Fouman City, North of Iran Using Dab Smear and Digestion Methods Food safety and hygiene Original articles <div style="text-align: justify;">Introduction: Human infection with Sarcocystis species can be attributed to the consumption of raw or inadequately cooked meat, such as hamburgers, containing encapsulated parasites.  Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between April and September 2022 in Fouman, Iran. A total of 182 hamburger samples, comprising two types of traditional hamburgers and industrial hamburgers, were collected. Result: Out of 182 hamburger samples of different types, 34% of them were found to be infected with Sarcocystis spp. The infection rate within industrial and traditional hamburgers was 21.5% and 56%, respectively. Notably, a statistically significant difference was observed between Sarcocystis-infested traditional and industrial hamburgers (p < 0.05). Among the two distinct groups of 182 hamburgers, the microscopic <a name="_Hlk151249776">digestion method </a>revealed the presence of Sarcocystis bradyzoites in all 51 infected traditional beef burgers and 19 positive industrial beef burgers. However, in the dab smear method, just 33 and 12 positive samples were respectively identified in traditional and industrial beef burgers and a statistically significant difference was observed between efficiency of these two methods (p < 0.05). Infection with macroscopic parasite cysts was not observed in any of hamburger samples. Similarly, no statistically significant association was identified between the meat content percentage and the infection rate in industrial hamburgers (p > 0.05).  Conclusion: Considering the high abundance of Sarcocysts micro cysts in frozen raw hamburgers, it is recommended to fully cook this food product and avoid consumption when only partially cooked.</div> Sarcocystis, Digestion, Hamburger,Fouman City, Iran. 2134 2138 http://jehsd.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-34-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Emad Ahmadiara e.ahmadi@ausmt.ac.ir 0000-0002-4541-4085 Yes Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Amol University of Special Modern Technologies, Amol, Iran. Amin Rahimzadeh amin.rahimzadeh251@gmail.com 0009-0004-3749-1103 No Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economic, Management and Social Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. Shohreh Alian Samakkhah aliansamakkhah@gmail.com 0000-0002-5756-6553 No Department of food hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Amol University of Special Modern Technologies, Amol, Iran.