66
Modern Food Microbiology
Table 4–2 Genera of Fungi Most Often Found on Meats and
Poultry
Genus
Fresh and Refrigerated Meats
Poultry
Molds
Alternaria
X
X
Aspergillus
X
X
Aureobasidium
X
Cladosporium
XX
X
Eurotium
X
Fusarium
X
Geotrichum
XX
X
Monascus
X
Monilia
X
Mucor
XX
X
Neurospora
X
Penicillium
X
X
Rhizopus
XX
X
Sporotrichum
XX
Thamnidium
XX
Yeasts
Candida
XX
XX
Cryptococcus
X
X
Debaryomyces
X
X X
Hansenula
X
Pichia
X
X
Rhodotorula
X
X X
Saccharomyces
X
Torulopsis
XX
X
Trichosporon
X
X
Yarrowia
XX
Note: X = known to occur; XX = most frequently found.
Source: Taken from the literature and from references 34, 35, and 94.
and Cladosporium. The most ubiquitous yeasts found in meats and poultry are members of the genera
Candida and Rhodotorula (Table 4–2). For an extensive review, see Dillon.
35
INCIDENCE/PREVALENCE OF MICROORGANISMS IN FRESH RED MEATS
The incidence and prevalence of microorganisms in some red meats are presented in Table 4–3.
The aerobic plate counts (APCs) of the fresh ground beef in this table are considerably higher than
those reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA
176 ). In that survey of 563 raw ground
beef samples from throughout the United States, the log 10 mean number for APC was only 3.90; and
1.98, 1.83, and 1.49 for coliforms, Clostridium perfringens, and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively.
To what extent these lower numbers are reflective of a trending-down of bacteria in fresh ground beef