Investigations on the occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes and lactic acid bacteria in prepackaged meat products stored under refrigeration.

Author(s) : KRÖCKEL L.

Summary

Microbial contaminations during processing of Bologna-type sausages and similar pasteurized meats to sliced prepacked retail meat products may threaten the quality of the products as well as the health of the consumers. Certain lactic acid bacteria and listeria are frequent contaminants which, during refrigerated storage, may grow to considerable levels within the usual shelf life. The aim of the study was to obtain an up-to-date snapshot on the occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes and lactic acid bacteria in sliced prepacked meats. The results indicated that the present slicing and packaging techniques still can not prevent contaminations with Listeria monocytogenes. This is underlined by the mostly high lactic acid bacteria levels in the analysed samples. In view of previous research results in this field, it seems likely that multiplication of L. monocytogenes to higher levels in the Listeria-positive samples was prevented at an early stage by the competing lactic acid bacteria flora. The results on the compositional analysis of the lactic acid bacteria flora may be of interest for the development of appropriate protective cultures.

Details

  • Original title: Investigations on the occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes and lactic acid bacteria in prepackaged meat products stored under refrigeration.
  • Record ID : 2003-2874
  • Languages: English
  • Publication date: 2002/08/18
  • Source: Source: Proc. ICFMH Symp., Lillehammer
    1 p.
  • Document available for consultation in the library of the IIR headquarters only.