Safety of Meat Products

Abstract

Meat and meat products have frequently been associated with foodborne diseases produced by pathogenic microorganisms, such as Salmonella, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, or various parasites. In some cases, the emergence of resistant strains of these organisms to clinically relevant antimicrobials has exacerbated their public health impact. The reservoirs of these pathogens are principally live animals or their environment and/or food processing facilities. As a result, microbial hazards can be introduced along the food chain and their numbers can vary during the various stages of the processing, storage, distribution, and preparation of foods. Therefore, integrated food safety management approaches are required that consider all phases of the meat production chain in order to adequately control risks associated with these microbial hazards. The application of routine sequential risk reduction procedures along the food chain increases food safety assurance and improves levels of public health protection.