Microbiological examination of ready-to-eat stuffing from retail premises in the north-east of England. The 'Get Stuffed' survey.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the microbiological quality of ready-to-eat stuffing from retail premises in the north-east of England. To establish threshold levels of bacteria in the product for acceptance as a ready-to-eat food. To determine the relationship between the microbiology of the product and production processes.


RESULTS
A microbiological study of ready-to-eat stuffing using validated methods was performed on 147 samples from 139 retail premises. The determinants investigated were as follows: aerobic colony count, Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus spp., Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Results indicate that using current guidelines 76.3% were satisfactory, 15.6% were acceptable and 8.2% were of unsatisfactory quality.


CONCLUSIONS
Unsatisfactory results were due to high aerobic colony counts, E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae and S. aureus. There were significant associations between bacteriological quality and temperature of storage, food hygiene training, product discard policy and confidence in management scores.


CONCLUSIONS
The microbiology of ready-to-eat stuffing suggests that this is a relatively safe product. It is suggested that the product be placed in food category 3 in the current guidelines for ready-to-eat foods.
Richardson
I R
IR
Newcastle Public Health Laboratory, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. newirich@north.phls.nhs.uk
Stevens
A M
AM
D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004739:England; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005513:Food Inspection / Q000379:methods; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000592:standards*; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene / Q000193:education; D017751:Safety Management / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013696:Temperature