The microbiological food safety control of meat and meat products at the State Veterinary Institute in Olomouc in 2010 – 2014

Meat and meat products are an important segment of the food chain for the majority of consumers in the Czech Republic. One of the main tasks of laboratory testing in this area is the safety of food and the raw materials used in its production. The aim is to protect the health of consumers from foodborne infections or intoxication. A considerable proportion of foodborne infections are caused by bacteria and their toxins. Therefore, activities in this area are also carried out by the State Veterinary Institute (SVI) in Olomouc. This paper presents 5-year trends in the results of analyses of meat and meat products focusing on the bacteria Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and staphylococcal enterotoxins. An overview is presented of the microbiological findings in meat and meat product samples analyzed from 2010 to 2014 at the SVI in Olomouc. Bacteria of the genus Salmonella were detected in 2.2% and non-complying findings of Listeria monocytogenes in 1.5% of the samples tested. In the case of coagulase-positive staphylococci, non-complying findings were seen in 0.5% of the samples tested; in two cases, staphylococcal enterotoxins were detected. A total of 3.9% of the samples tested for Escherichia coli were non-complying.