| Abstract: |
Over the years, food scientists have been searching how to produce safe, high quality and healthier processed meat products. Bacterial food borne illness resulting from bacterial growth and the products of bacterial metabolism remains one of the main problems associated with meat and meat products consumption.So, the study aimed to evaluate the bacterial quality of the processed meat products in the Egyptian market according to reference standards. Twenty randomly selected samples of different meat products representing fourEgyptian factories were subjected to microbiological investigation. Themicrobiological evaluation was based on the aerobic plate counts,indicator organisms and the count or presence of specific food poisoningbacteria. The results revealed that 85% of the samples were unacceptablein terms of the ICMSF standards. Moreover, 35% of the investigatedsamples were potentially hazardous in terms of their salmonellae andS.aureus conent. As for the potential food borne pathogens the highest counts and isolation frequencies were encountered for Staphylococcusaureus (70% of the samples), followed by E.coli (45% of the samples).Meanwhile, E.coli, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus (A,D) as well as Klebsiellae pneumoniae and Citrobacter freundii were isolated from the investigated samples In the study, trials were made to select, format, optimize and evaluate a preservative system based on low levels of sodium chloride and sodium nitrite. Simultaneously, the highest antibacterial activity was achieved by using organic acid salt combinations, which are among the safest of preservatives, as well as exhibiting the widest spectrum of activity. The antibacterial activity of different preservatives and additives were evaluated using standard reference strains and thirty one isolates from the investigated meat products.
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