Chapter 9
Miscellaneous Food Products
This chapter contains brief descriptions of a wide variety of food products along with the microbial
biota of both fresh and spoiled products.
DELICATESSEN AND RELATED FOODS
Delicatessen foods, such as salads and sandwiches, are sometimes involved in food-poisoning
outbreaks. These foods are often prepared by hand, and this direct contact may lead to an increased
incidence of food-poisoning agents such as Staphylococcus. Once organisms such as these enter meat
salads or sandwiches, they may grow well because of the reduction in numbers of the normal food
biota by the prior cooking of salad ingredients.
In a study of retail salads and sandwiches, 36% of 53 salads were found to have total counts log 10 /g
>6.00, but only 16% of the 60 sandwiches had counts as high.
6 With respect to coliforms, 57% of
sandwiches were found to harbor log 10 /g <2.00. S. aureus was present in 60% of sandwiches and 39%
of salads. Yeasts and molds were found in high numbers, with six samples containing log 10 /g >6.00.
In a study of 517 salads from around 170 establishments, 71–96% were found to have aerobic plate
counts (APCs) log 10 /g <5.00.
45 Almost all (96–100%) salads contained coagulase positive S. aureus
at levels log 10 /g <2.00. Salads included chicken, egg, macaroni, and shrimp. S. aureus was recovered
in low numbers from 6 to 64 salads in another study.
12 The 12 different salads examined by these
investigators had total counts between log 10 2.08 and 6.76, with egg, shrimp, and some of the macaroni
salads having the highest counts. Neither salmonellae nor C. perfringens were found in any product.
A study of 42 salads by Harris et al.
18 revealed the products to be of generally good microbial quality.
The mean APC was log 10 /g 5.54, and the mean coliform count was log 10 2.66/g for the six different
products. Staphylococci were found in some products, especially ham salad.
Fresh green salads (greens, mixed greens, and coleslaw) were found to contain mean total counts of
log 10 6.67 for coleslaw to log 10 7.28 for green salads.
13 Fecal coliforms were found in 26% of mixed,
28% of green, and 29% of coleslaw, whereas the respective percentage findings for S. aureus were
8, 14, and 3. With respect to parsley, E. coli was found on 11 of 64 samples of fresh and unwashed
products and on over 50% of frozen samples.
24 The mean APC of fresh washed parsley was 7.28/g
log. Neither salmonellae nor S. aureus was found in any sample.
In a study of the microbiological quality of imitation-cream pies from plants operated under poor
sanitary conditions, Surkiewicz
56 found that the microbial load increased successively as the products
were carried through the various processing steps. For example, in one instance, the final mixture of
197
Miscellaneous Food Products
This chapter contains brief descriptions of a wide variety of food products along with the microbial
biota of both fresh and spoiled products.
DELICATESSEN AND RELATED FOODS
Delicatessen foods, such as salads and sandwiches, are sometimes involved in food-poisoning
outbreaks. These foods are often prepared by hand, and this direct contact may lead to an increased
incidence of food-poisoning agents such as Staphylococcus. Once organisms such as these enter meat
salads or sandwiches, they may grow well because of the reduction in numbers of the normal food
biota by the prior cooking of salad ingredients.
In a study of retail salads and sandwiches, 36% of 53 salads were found to have total counts log 10 /g
>6.00, but only 16% of the 60 sandwiches had counts as high.
6 With respect to coliforms, 57% of
sandwiches were found to harbor log 10 /g <2.00. S. aureus was present in 60% of sandwiches and 39%
of salads. Yeasts and molds were found in high numbers, with six samples containing log 10 /g >6.00.
In a study of 517 salads from around 170 establishments, 71–96% were found to have aerobic plate
counts (APCs) log 10 /g <5.00.
45 Almost all (96–100%) salads contained coagulase positive S. aureus
at levels log 10 /g <2.00. Salads included chicken, egg, macaroni, and shrimp. S. aureus was recovered
in low numbers from 6 to 64 salads in another study.
12 The 12 different salads examined by these
investigators had total counts between log 10 2.08 and 6.76, with egg, shrimp, and some of the macaroni
salads having the highest counts. Neither salmonellae nor C. perfringens were found in any product.
A study of 42 salads by Harris et al.
18 revealed the products to be of generally good microbial quality.
The mean APC was log 10 /g 5.54, and the mean coliform count was log 10 2.66/g for the six different
products. Staphylococci were found in some products, especially ham salad.
Fresh green salads (greens, mixed greens, and coleslaw) were found to contain mean total counts of
log 10 6.67 for coleslaw to log 10 7.28 for green salads.
13 Fecal coliforms were found in 26% of mixed,
28% of green, and 29% of coleslaw, whereas the respective percentage findings for S. aureus were
8, 14, and 3. With respect to parsley, E. coli was found on 11 of 64 samples of fresh and unwashed
products and on over 50% of frozen samples.
24 The mean APC of fresh washed parsley was 7.28/g
log. Neither salmonellae nor S. aureus was found in any sample.
In a study of the microbiological quality of imitation-cream pies from plants operated under poor
sanitary conditions, Surkiewicz
56 found that the microbial load increased successively as the products
were carried through the various processing steps. For example, in one instance, the final mixture of
197