Title: Microbiological status of mechanically separated poultry meat
Abstract: Mechanically separated meat is often contaminated with microorganisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiological status of mechanically separated poultry meat samples from June 2011 to December 2012. Microbiological testing included Salmonella species, Escherichia coli and the number of aerobic bacteria. In 5.26% of the samples the presence of Salmonella species was revealed, whereas 22.95% and 4.92% of the mechanically separated poultry meat samples were incompliant in regard to the number of E. coli and total aerobic colony count, respectively.