[Change in the quantity of coliform and Proteus bacteria during the ripening of raw, nonperishable meat products]

Abstract

Studied were the changes in the amount of coliform and Proteus bacteria in the production of raw-dried and raw-smoked unperishable meat products, employing model testing procedures of experimentally contaminated meat products with Escherichia coli and Bacterium proteus, through following up the changes in the counts of coliform and Proteus bacteria in batches of regular production, and by the investigation of raw meat samples of varying moisture content. The studies were carried out at eight enterprises working under different technologic conditions. A total of twenty series of model experiments were carried out with artificially contaminated batches of products as well as twenty-one series of experiments with batches of regular production, and some 93 meat products, dried to a various extent, were sampled. Results showed that during the ripening process with unperishable meat products the reduce in the numbers of coliform bacteria is more intense than the decrease in the Proteus organisms. The process of smoking did not change the amount of these microbes. In unperishable raw meat products that meet the requirements of the Bulgarian State Standard coliforms are found in 43 per cent of the samples, and Proteus bacteria are not present.