Microbiology of Fresh Comminuted Turkey Meat

Abstract

Standard plate counts, coliform plate and most probable number (MPN) counts, Escherichia coli plate and MPN counts, Staphylococcus aureus MPN counts, and fecal streptococcus counts were determined for 75 samples of fresh ground turkey meat purchased from retail markets in the San Francisco Bay Area. The presence of Clostridium perfringens was determined by both direct plate count and enrichment techniques. Salmonellae were isolated using selective enrichment procedures. Samples were screened for presence of enteroviruses. Aerobic gram-positive and gram-negative organisms were isolated and identified. Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella sp. were isolated from 52% and 28% of the samples, respectively. The mean standard plate count was 84,000,000 per gram. The mean count for E. coli determined by the MPN method was 19 per gram. Fecal streptococci were isolated from 95% of the samples with a mean count of 18,000 per gram. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 80% of samples analyzed with a mean count of 34 per gram.