Microbiological Quality of Fresh and Frozen Breakfast-Type Sausages Sold in Canada

A national survey was conducted to determine the overall microbiological quality of fresh and frozen breakfast-type sausages manufactured in Canada. Fresh (61 lots; 55 producers) and frozen (62 lots; 35 producers) were analyzed for aerobic colony counts (ACCs), coliforms, Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella . There was wide variation in aerobic colony count values, but most were in the range of 10⁴ to 10⁷ CFU/g. Detectable levels of E. coli and S. aureus were found in at least one-third of all fresh and frozen sausages. In addition, Salmonella was detected in 14.8% of lots of fresh sausages and 6.5% of lots of frozen sausages. Frozen sausages generally had lower microbial loads than fresh ones. Although no standards or guidelines for breakfast-type sausages are available from the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF), guidelines published in the literature were applied to ACCs, coliforms and S. aureus for both fresh and frozen sausages.