“Assessment and Evaluation of the Microbiological Safety Criteria in Some Food Products”

Abstract
 
Food safety is a basic human right because it is important for life. Microbial contamination of food causes disease transmission and endangers the lives of millions of people. Therefore, evaluating and detection of the presence of pathogenic bacteria in food reduces these risks, as it clarifies the microbial safety practices that were applied to these products during the manufacturing stages and their conformity with the Egyptian standard specifications.
 
A total of 250 random samples of different meat products of burger, kofta, sausage, luncheon, and chicken luncheon samples (50 samples each) were randomly collected from different supermarkets in Giza Governorate, Egypt. Microbiological examination was carried out to detect some microorganisms that cause food poisoning and to assess the microbiological quality of these products according to the Egyptian standard specifications for each product using traditional examination methods.
 
The proportion of unacceptable aerobic bacteria in the samples of burger, sausage, luncheon, chicken luncheon and kofta was (62%), (64%), (60%) (66%) (66%), respectively. The obtained results also indicated that the mean values of the total number of intestinal bacteria (cfu/g) were 2.2 x 10³ ± 3.6 x 10², 2.1 x 10³ ± 3.2 x 10², 1.9 x 10³ ± 3.4 x 10², 2.1 x10³ ± 3.7 x 10² , 2.2 x 10³ ± 2.9 x 10² (cfu/g) for beef burger, sausage, luncheon, chicken luncheon and kofta respectively while the results showed that Salmonella was identified in (28%), (24%), (20%), (56%), (40%) beefburger, sausage, luncheon, chicken luncheon and kofta respectively. It also indicated that (50%), (62%), (62%), (58%) and (36%) samples of burger, sausage, luncheon, chicken luncheon and kofta, respectively, Unacceptable for Staphylococcus aureus. and found the highest percentage of Staphylococcus aureus in both kofta and sausage, while the incidence was lower in luncheon. All data indicate a high rate of contamination in the samples studied and a lack of microbiological safety regulations for products, both of which endanger consumers and lead to economic loss