[The relationship between indicator bacteria and pathogens in food safety].
57 specimens of raw foods and 143 specimens of ready to eat foods were examined for microbial contamination in a period from October, 1982 to September, 1983. The results showed that 26% of the raw foods and 24% of the ready to eat foods didn't meet the government's requirement. When TAPC less than 10(6) CFU/g is used as acceptable level, then 60% of the raw foods and 46% of the ready to eat foods are unsatisfactory. The appearance of pathogenic bacteria in foods increased when the TAPC rised, although only the emergence of S. aureus was statistically significant. The number of indicator bacteria in the foods examined didn't show any correlation with the existence of pathogenic bacteria, indicating that the presence of coliform bacteria and E. coli in foods could hardly serve as parameters for evaluating food safety.
D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005516:Food Microbiology