Safety of sliced meat in NSW
The following information is from Food Surveillance Australia New Zealand (Summer 2009) and included here with permission from Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
The Food Standards Code defines ready-to-eat (RTE) meat as meat products (including poultry) intended to be consumed without further heating or cooking, and includes:
• cooked or uncooked fermented meat
• pâté
• dried meat
• slow cured meat
• luncheon meat
• cooked cured or uncured muscle meat
• other ready-to-eat meat that is susceptible to the growth of pathogens or the production of toxins
On any given day, between 20% and 50% of the Australian population consume RTE meats, including smallgoods, deli meats, manufactured, fermented and processed meats (MLA, 2006).
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) estimated the daily serving size of these products to be between 28 and 58 grams per person (MLA, 2006).
The National Risk Validation Project report (Food Science Australia & Minter Ellison Consulting, 2002) identified producers of fermented and manufactured meat products to be high risk businesses. That project estimated foodborne illness attributable to fermented and manufactured meats in Australia to be in the order of $77 million per year. This was based on the nature of food operations, the frequency of illness in relation to product consumption rates and the severity of illness.
Since 2004, according to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) there have been 30 recalls of RTE meat products in Australia, with 26 (86.7%) due to microbiological contamination. In addition, there have been documented food poisoning outbreaks from RTE meats in Australia and overseas, due to L. monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, E. coli O157 and O111, Staphylococcus and Salmonella.
The NSW Food Authority conducted this survey with the aim of gathering up-to-date information on the microbiological quality of RTE meats sold in NSW. This survey specifically targeted the RTE meat products considered to be high risk, namely those which had been further processed by slicing and then packaged to extend shelf life.
From August to November 2008, a total of 154 packaged sliced RTE meat products were purchased from supermarkets, greengrocers, farmers markets and retail butcher shops in the greater Sydney area.
The safety of RTE meat products relies largely on adequate processing (cooking, curing or fermentation) and/or the use of preservatives. This survey specifically targeted high risk RTE meat products which were sliced and packaged. Packaging of these products may involve modified atmosphere packaging or vacuum packaging, with the result of extended shelf life potentially allowing the psychotrophic pathogen L. monocytogenes the time and conditions to grow to levels that may cause infection in susceptible individuals.
Sliced meats pose a higher risk as slicing is normally undertaken after cooking, allowing recontamination via the slicing blade and subsequent handling.
The survey found that 95.5% of samples complied with the microbiological criteria. Of those samples found not to comply, one sample of ham contained E. coli at a level slightly above the limit (4 cfu/g) and six samples (two ham, two salami, one silverside, one roast beef) were positive for the presence of L. monocytogenes at low levels(≤ 10cfu/g). Follow-up action was undertaken by NSW Food Authority officers in accordance with the level of risk posed. Followup action included inspection of the premises where the product was manufactured to assess compliance with Food Standards Code requirements.
The presence of L. monocytogenes in six samples supports the current risk management strategy of communicating to at-risk groups, particularly pregnant woman, that sliced packaged RTE meats should be avoided.
The full report on this survey can be found on the NSW Food Authority’s website: http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/science-and-research/market-analysis/smallgoodmeats-rte