Implementation of Compulsory Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point System and Its Effect on Concentrations of Carcass and Environmental Surface Bacterial Indicators in United Kingdom Red Meat Slaughterhouses

2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 1633-1639 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL L. HUTCHISON ◽  
D. JOHN I. THOMAS ◽  
ALISON H. SMALL ◽  
SAVA BUNCIC ◽  
MARY HOWELL
Keyword(s):  
Hazard Analysis ◽  
Control Point ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Point System ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Indicator Organisms ◽  
Microbiological Test ◽  
Critical Control Point ◽  
Environmental Test ◽  
Pig Carcasses

Statutory microbiological test results were collected from British meat plants over a 4-year period from June 2002 to May 2006. A total of 49,074 carcass test results from 19,409 cattle, 14,706 sheep, and 14,959 pig swabs and 95,179 environmental test results from surface swabs were obtained. These test results were donated by 94 slaughterhouses, which process about two thirds of the British national annual throughput of cattle, sheep, and pig carcasses. The data were collectively analyzed to determine any historical trends for numbers of total aerobes and Enterobacteriaceae. Significant reductions were observed in the numbers of indicator organisms on carcasses for all three species between 2002 and 2006. Reductions were also observed for numbers of aerobes on environmental and food contact surfaces. There were seasonal differences in bacterial numbers isolated from carcasses. Cattle and sheep carcasses had significantly higher numbers of total aerobes and Enterobacteriaceae in late summer and early autumn, whereas numbers of total aerobes on pig carcasses were higher in winter. Bacterial numbers on environmental surfaces were not influenced by the month that the swab samples were collected. Possible reasons for the observed reductions in bacterial numbers on carcasses and surfaces and the implications for carcass testing for process control purposes are discussed.

Elaboration of Microbiological Guidelines as an Element of Codes of Hygienic Practices for Small and/or Less Developed Businesses To Verify Compliance with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point

2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. FRIEDHOFF ◽  
A. P. M. HOUBEN ◽  
J. M. J. LEBLANC ◽  
J. M. W. M. BEELEN ◽  
J. T. JANSEN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Hazard Analysis ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Control Point ◽  
Heat Processing ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Indicator Organisms ◽  
Critical Control Point ◽  
Model Study ◽  
Microbiological Criteria

Effective assurance of microbiological food safety practices in small and/or less developed businesses is not yet resolved. Although a start has been made by drafting hygiene codes, feasible methods for verifying manufacturing processes that rely on strict and meaningful criteria to be applied to process points are still lacking. This investigation is a model study with various types of ready-to-eat foods aimed at verifying adequate processing for safety and subsequent meticulous hygienic handling and safe storage of foods in small and/or less developed businesses by the use of quantitative methods for selected indicator organisms, as standardized by the International Organization for Standardization. The manufacture of the foods that were used in this study invariably included (i) a heat processing step that ensured a level of lethality of nonsporing organisms at least equivalent to the reduction of such organisms attained in the pasteurization of milk and (ii) effective means of prevention of postprocess recontamination and recolorization. The results of this study indicate that simple microbiological criteria used for this purpose, including aerobic mesophilic colony (standard plate) counts, Enterobacteriaceae counts, and, in some instances, enumeration of yeast propagules, allow adequate verification of good practices throughout. This verification through monitoring of samples taken during processing in small and/or less developed businesses was found to be an attractive alternative to the conventional examination of end products.

Role of Microbiological Guidelines in the Production and Commercial Use of Milled Cereal Grains: A Practical Approach for the 21st Century

2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 1041-1053 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLIAM H. SPERBER ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Food Quality ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Hazard Analysis ◽  
Control Point ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Cereal Grains ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Point System ◽  
Critical Control Point

A contemporary survey of the microbiological profile of five milled cereal grains—wheat, corn, oats, whole wheat, and durum—was conducted largely from 2003 to 2005, with routine laboratory data obtained by North American dry-milling operations. When compared to data reported in the previous century, the contemporary data showed similar or reduced quantitative counts for indicator tests (e.g., total aerobes, yeasts, molds, coliforms, and Escherichia coli) as well as a substantially lower incidence of salmonellae. The implementation of modern management systems for the control of food quality and safety, i.e., good agricultural practices, good manufacturing practices, and the hazard analysis critical control point system, together with the excellent microbiological profiles, has eliminated the need for microbiological specifications and lot acceptance criteria for milled cereal grains. Instead, microbiological monitoring guidelines, such as the periodic testing of aerobic plate counts and mold counts, can be used to verify compliance with the requirements of food quality and food safety management systems.

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