Impact of refrigeration equipment's sanitary condition on shelf life of meat

Main principle of microbiological food safety is that there is no harm to human health in terms of the occurrence of infectious diseases. Based on this, the main requirement for the hygienic assessment of food products, in particular meat, is the absence of pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins in them. The aim of the work is to determine the sanitary condition of the refrigeration equipment of a meat-processing enterprise, the impact on the shelf life, quality and safety of meat. The objects of the study were meat samples, washes from walls, racks, as well as the air of refrigerating chambers of the “BayserkeAgro” meat-processing plant in Almaty region. The work used generally accepted methods of analysis according to state and interstate standards. The study of microorganisms was carried out using standard microbiological methods. It has been shown that the total microbial contamination of the refrigerating chambers of the "BayserkeAgro" meat processing plant during storage of meat is low and meets safety requirements. Installed in refrigerating chambers, NMAFAnM of walls and air is in the range of 0.1-3.2×101 CFU / g, NMAFAnM of the shelving surface is in the range of 0.1-8.23×102 CFU / g, which does not negatively affect the shelf life of meat. In the course of the experiment, it was found that the microflora of refrigeration equipment of the meat processing enterprise “BayserkeAgro” is represented by bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus mesentericus, Pseudomonas sp., Sarcinaflava, yeast of the genus Rhodotorula, mycelial fungi of the genus Penicillium, Alternaria, Mucor, Aspergillus, Chrososporum, Tamnidium, Cladosprium. One of the critical control points is the surface of shelves, tables, boxes for storing by-products in refrigerated chambers, since the largest number of microorganisms that survived after general disinfection of chambers was found on them. It has been determined that the sanitary condition of refrigerating chambers meets safety requirements, in combination with optimal technological cooling modes (humidity and air flow rate), contributes to a decrease in the level of microbial contamination of meat put into refrigerated storage within the same order of magnitude and an endurance of the corresponding shelf life.