Assessment of Microbial Populations in the Manufacture of Vacuum-Packaged Ready-to-Eat Roast Beef and in a Related Production Plant.

Some microbiological criteria were monitored for 6 months in vacuum-packaged roast beef (15 production batches), raw beef (10 batches), and other meat products (12 batches) produced in an Italian small to medium-size enterprise. Fifty-five environmental swab samples also were analyzed. The main bacterial groups were identified by cultural methods according to International Organization for Standardization standards.