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Microbiological survey of prepackaged pâté and ham in New Zealand
T L Wong1, G V Carey-Smith, L Hollis
1Food Safety Group, Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited, Christchurch Science Centre, Ilam, Christchurch, New Zealand. tecklok.wong@esr.cri.nz
Aims:
To gauge the effectiveness of pâté and ham manufacturers' management of the microbial safety and quality of their products.
Methods And Results:
A survey of 60 batches of prepackaged pâté showed that 41.7% of the batches had aerobic plate counts (APC) exceeding 10(5) CFU g(-1), one of pâté sample contained a Bacillus cereus count of >5000 CFU g(-1) and another contained 1700 CFU g(-1) of Listeria monocytogenes. No other pathogens were isolated from any of the samples. The survey of prepackaged ham showed that only 1% (1/104) of the ham samples were positive for L. monocytogenes (50 CFU g(-1)).
Conclusions:
The presence of microbial hazards in these foods has generally declined since the early 1990s in New Zealand. Noncomplying APC levels may be due to an over-estimation of product shelf life or poor food handling practices during manufacture.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
Few of the samples tested contained pathogens at significant levels. The prevalences of L. monocytogenes in pâté and ham were low. The presence of 1700 CFU g(-1) of L. monocytogenes in a pâté sample indicates that occasionally, the population can be exposed to levels of L. monocytogenes above the zero tolerance level set in New Zealand.
