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Microbiological status of beef in Australia

In the June 1997 issue of Food Safety & Hygiene, Michael Eyles, Chief Executive Officer of Food Science Australia, refuted claims in the media that a CSIRO study funded by the then Meat Research Corporation showed that meat produced by domestic abattoirs is not as safe as meat derived from export abattoirs.

The full results of this study by Paul Vanderlinde and Barry Shay of Food Science Australia and James Murray of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service have now been published in Journal of Food Protection 61 (4) 1998 437-443. The study was undertaken to establish background data on the microbiological status of Australian beef. Without this data, the authors say, it will be impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of any new intervention strategies such as mandatory HACCP plans to improve the microbiological safety of food.

Forty-nine beef slaughtering establishments were selected statistically to represent the beef carcass industry in Australia and 60 freezing establishments were selected to represent the frozen boneless beef meat industry.

Readers are referred to the original article for the detailed findings of the study.

The incidence of pathogens found in the survey was very low and similar to that reported in the United States.

In the beef carcass survey the aerobic plate count at 25°C found on domestic samples after overnight chilling was significantly higher than that on export samples chilled for a similar period. However this difference does not compromise the safety of the domestic meat although it could have a bearing on its shelf life.

For further information contact: Paul Vanderlinde,
Brisbane Laboratory, Telephone 07 3214 2000.

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Prepared by Keith Richardson and Beverley George
Food Science Australia
PO Box 52, North Ryde 1670. Tel +61 2 9490 8397 Fax +61 2 9490 8499
Email enquiries@csiro.au