<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are challenging for food business operators as they need to remain qualitative and safe for consumers. However, consumers tend to choose them more and more often because of fast and easy handling. The highest risk from RTE foods is microbiological contamination, particularly for vulnerable groups like children, elderly, and pregnant women. The aim of the research was to assess the microbiological quality of RTE meat and fish products to highlight possible risks for consumers. A total of 15 984 analyses performed on RTE meat and fish products were included in this study. It was found that RTE meat and fish product samples representative of the market in Latvia in the period 2012-2015 had high microbiological quality and only in rare cases was contamination with hygiene indicatororganisms (coliforms and Escherichia coli) and pathogens (Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and sulphite-reducing clostridia) detected. However, it is important to pay attention to customer habits of cooking and preparing RTE foods as well - thermal processing for products intended to be used cooked, use before expiration date and adequate storage rules for products, as these have important regarding microbiological risks for health.</p></abstract>

Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are challenging for food business operators as they need to remain qualitative and safe for consumers. However, consumers tend to choose them more and more often because of fast and easy handling. The highest risk from RTE foods is microbiological contamination, particularly for vulnerable groups like children, elderly, and pregnant women. The aim of the research was to assess the microbiological quality of RTE meat and fish products to highlight possible risks for consumers. A total of 15 984 analyses performed on RTE meat and fish products were included in this study. It was found that RTE meat and fish product samples representative of the market in Latvia in the period 2012-2015 had high microbiological quality and only in rare cases was contamination with hygiene indicatororganisms (coliforms and Escherichia coli) and pathogens (Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and sulphite-reducing clostridia) detected. However, it is important to pay attention to customer habits of cooking and preparing RTE foods as well - thermal processing for products intended to be used cooked, use before expiration date and adequate storage rules for products, as these have important regarding microbiological risks for health.

Microbiological Quality of Ready-To-Eat Products and Potential Risks for Consumers in Latvia / Ēšanai Gatavu Produktu Mikrobioloģiskā Kvalitāte Un Iespējamais Risks Patērētājiem Latvijā

Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment, Lejupes iela 3, Rīga, LV-1076, LATVIA

Department of Infectology and Dermatology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Linezera iela 3, Rīga, LV-1006, LATVIA

Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are challenging for food business operators as they need to remain qualitative and safe for consumers. However, consumers tend to...

Microbiological Quality of Ready-To-Eat Products and Potential Risks for Consumers in Latvia / Ēšanai Gatavu Produktu Mikrobioloģiskā Kvalitāte Un Iespējamais Risks Patērētājiem Latvijā

Published Online: Aug 04, 2016

Page range: 245 - 251

Received: Nov 13, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/prolas-2016-0038

Keywords
ready-to-eat food, microbiological quality, public health, consumption

© by Elīna Ciekure

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Microbiological Quality of Ready-To-Eat Products and Potential Risks for Consumers in Latvia / Ēšanai Gatavu Produktu Mikrobioloģiskā Kvalitāte Un Iespējamais Risks Patērētājiem Latvijā

Published Online: Aug 04, 2016

Page range: 245 - 251

Received: Nov 13, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/prolas-2016-0038

Keywordsready-to-eat food, microbiological quality, public health, consumption

© by Elīna Ciekure

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
ready-to-eat food, microbiological quality, public health, consumption