Retail Butchers Research Articles

Prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales in retail sheep meat from Zagazig city, Egypt

BackgroundThe goal of this study was to investigate the prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase production in Enterobacterales isolated from retail sheep meat in Zagazig, Egypt.MethodsOne hundred random samples of sheep meat were collected from different retail butcher shops (n = 5) in the city of Zagazig, Egypt. Bacterial isolates were identified by MALDI-TOF MS and screened for antibiotic susceptibility by disk diffusion; further genotypic characterization of β-lactamase-encoding genes was performed with Real-Time PCR. E. coli strains were phylotyped with the Clermont triplex PCR method.ResultsOf the total of 101 bacterial isolates recovered from retail sheep meat samples, 93 were E. coli, six were Enterobacter cloacae and two were Proteus mirabilis. As many as 17% of these 100 samples showed ESBL phenotypes, all were E. coli. The blaCTX-M genes were detected in seven isolates (six were blaCTX-M-15 and one was blaCTX-M-14), three isolates harboured blaTEM (all were blaTEM-one), and two carried genes of the blaSHV family (both were blaSHV-12). Eight E. coli isolates expressed ESBL phenotype but no blaTEM, blaSHV or blaCTX-M genes were detected by PCR. ESBL- positive E. coli isolates were nearly equally distributed over the commensal groups A/B1 and the virulent group D.ConclusionNearly one in five sheep meat samples was contaminated with ESBL-E. coli. This further corroborates the potential role played by contaminated meat in the increasing resistance rates that have been reported worldwide.

The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902: Immigrant Housewives and the Riots That Shook New York City by Scott D. Seligman

Reviewed by: The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902: Immigrant Housewives and the Riots That Shook New York City by Scott D. Seligman Melissa R. Klapper (bio) The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902: Immigrant Housewives and the Riots That Shook New York City By Scott D. Seligman. Lincoln, NB: Potomac Books, 2020. xxxiii + 276 pp. Reviewing The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902 in the summer of 2021, it is impossible not to think about the historical parallels between the "riots" of more than a century ago and the marches following the murder of George Floyd during the summer of 2020. Obviously the direct circumstances and the scale are not at all the same, but the spread of the protests beyond the initial location; the connections between local and national conditions; the conflation of protests and riots; the dismissal of instigating figures as naïfs in over their heads; the wildly varying media coverage; the pronouncements of government officials at the local, state, and national levels; and quite possibly the long-lasting impact of participation are, at the least, reminiscent of one another. Equally central to any review of Scott D. Seligman's book is the bright light still cast by Paula E. Hyman's pathbreaking article "Immigrant Women and Consumer Protest: The New York City Kosher Meat Boycott of 1902," published in American Jewish History in 1980. This was an early example of American Jewish women's history and has arguably remained one of the most influential scholarly articles in the field. While Seligman certainly fleshes out the story of the 1902 protests in much more detail than was possible in an article, it is unfortunate that he did not learn more from Hyman's work than the basic narrative. Even in 1980, without the benefit of the decades of corroborating research to come, Hyman understood that the women she was writing about were savvy political actors who strategically deployed gender within economic and religious constraints to achieve their goals. When they worked with [End Page 287] male allies, as they did during the kosher meat boycott and within the labor movement more generally, they were making a calculated choice rather than bowing to the seemingly inevitable dominance of men. As Hyman would argue in later work, immigrant Jewish women's activism stemmed not only from their immediate circumstances, but also their long experiences as public actors in eastern Europe, where the gender norms were quite different than in their new homeland. Seligman spins a good yarn, but The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902 is fundamentally flawed by its consistent dismissal of the Jewish women on the Lower East Side and in other thickly populated Jewish enclaves as ignorant, uneducated housewives who could not possibly have brought preexisting political acumen to their actions. His thin knowledge of modern Jewish women's history—and American Jewish history more generally—limits the scholarly impact of the book. Still, there are pleasures and contributions to be found in The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902. Seligman provides both a helpful list of the major cast of characters, many of whom will be unknown to most readers, and a detailed timeline of the boycotts, which lasted for several weeks and spread to places other than the Lower East Side. The book is smoothly written and adopts a sort of mini-cliffhanger style so that readers will want to proceed immediately from one chapter to the next. To his credit, Seligman integrates Yiddish periodical coverage of the boycott as well as intensive research into the mainstream press, and he frequently points out the different approaches his various sources took to the events as they unfolded. He also, importantly, highlights the experiences of the Jewish retail butchers who were caught between the demands of consumers and the pressures exerted by the wholesale kosher meat slaughterers, who themselves were at the mercy of the national Beef Trust, which was being investigated under antitrust laws at the very moment of the boycott. The chapters on the history of beef supply chains and the special circumstances of bringing kosher beef to market tell a fascinating tale. Seligman's contribution on this front is significant, as he...

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction detection of Shiga toxin genes and antibiotic sensitivity of Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolated from beef meat in Quetta, Pakistan

AbstractThe objective of this study was to conduct a qualitative analysis of raw beef meat sold in the city of Quetta, Pakistan for presence and drug sensitivity of the potentially pathogenic Escherichia coli strain O157:H7. The study used 200 raw beef meat samples collected from retail butcher shops. Conventional and rapid biochemical tests, latex agglutination and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers designed for the rfb O157 and flic H7 genes were used to detect E. coli O157:H7. All O157:H7 isolates were also tested for Shiga toxin genes stx 1 and stx 2. The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in collected beef meat samples was 10%. Detection through PCR was found more sensitive than detection of O and H antigens. The quantity of E. coli O157:H7 isolates positive for Shiga toxins was 50% (20% for stx 1, 45% for stx 2 and 10% for both stx 1 and stx 2). Season wise variation showed highest E. coli O157:H7 prevalence during summer months. A further concern is that E. coli O157:H7 isolates were resistant to a range of common antibiotics. The results indicate an urgent need for applying proper food hygiene practices in the Quetta region to reduce incidence of foodborne diseases and they also emphasize the global problem of antimicrobial resistance.Practical applications E. coli O157:H7 is as a potentially threatening foodborne pathogen. A significant prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 detected in raw beef meat from retail outlets in the city of Quetta indicates an urgent need for applying proper food hygiene practices in the Quetta region to reduce the incidence of foodborne diseases. Furthermore, resistance of the E. coli O157:H7 isolates to a range of commonly used antibiotics emphasizes the global problem of antimicrobial resistance. The multiplex PCR method used here is a reliable, sensitive, and relatively rapid technique for detecting E. coli O157:H7 in food and environmental samples and important for ongoing surveillance to minimize contamination of raw meat products and associated cross contamination by E. coli O157:H7.

A risk modelling approach for setting microbiological limits using enterococci as indicator for growth potential of Salmonella in pork

Microbiological limits are widely used in food processing as an aid to reduce the exposure to hazardous microorganisms for the consumers. However, in pork, the prevalence and concentrations of Salmonella are generally low and microbiological limits are not considered an efficient tool to support hygiene interventions. The objective of the present study was to develop an approach which could make it possible to define potential risk-based microbiological limits for an indicator, enterococci, in order to evaluate the risk from potential growth of Salmonella. A positive correlation between the concentration of enterococci and the prevalence and concentration of Salmonella was shown for 6640 pork samples taken at Danish cutting plants and retail butchers. The samples were collected in five different studies in 2001, 2002, 2010, 2011 and 2013. The observations that both Salmonella and enterococci are carried in the intestinal tract, contaminate pork by the same mechanisms and share similar growth characteristics (lag phase and maximum specific growth rate) at temperatures around 5–10°C, suggest a potential of enterococci to be used as an indicator of potential growth of Salmonella in pork. Elevated temperatures during processing will lead to growth of both enterococci and, if present, also Salmonella. By combining the correlation between enterococci and Salmonella with risk modelling, it is possible to predict the risk of salmonellosis based on the level of enterococci. The risk model used for this purpose includes the dose–response relationship for Salmonella and a reduction factor to account for preparation of the fresh pork. By use of the risk model, it was estimated that the majority of salmonellosis cases, caused by the consumption of pork in Denmark, is caused by the small fraction of pork products that has enterococci concentrations above 5logCFU/g. This illustrates that our approach can be used to evaluate the potential effect of different microbiological limits and therefore, the perspective of this novel approach is that it can be used for definition of a risk-based microbiological limit for enterococci. The limit for enterococci can then be used for development of a process hygiene criterion in cutting plants and retail butcher shops, with the purpose of reducing the risk of Salmonella for the consumer.

Surveillance of Amyloid Deposition and Bacterial Contamination in Chicken Liver from Meat Market

From the standpoint of poultry meat hygiene, amyloid deposition and bacterial contamination in livers of 197 mature white layer chickens from a slaughterhouse and 100 young broiler breeder chickens from 5 different retail butcher shops were examined. Amyloid deposition was detected in 1 liver from 2-years-old layer using alkaline Congo red staining and immunohistochemical examination, but no amyloid deposition was observed in 100 livers from young broiler. Total bacterial counts in the chicken livers were examined using nutrient, desoxycholate hydrogen sulfate and mCCDA agar plates, but no close relationship between amyloid deposition and bacterial contamination (counts and species) was observed in this study. These results suggest there is low incidence of systemic amyloid deposition in chicken liver from meat market.

Prevalence and pattern of antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter spp. in poultry meat in Southern Italy

Campylobacter spp. is one of the most common cause of sporadic human foodborne illness in industrialized countries, and concern has been raised by the emergence of strains showing antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate prevalence of Campylobacter spp. and pattern of antibiotic resistance in samples of poultry raw meat sold in retail outlets in Southern Italy.A total of 208 samples of chicken and turkey raw meat collected from randomly selected retail butchers' shops in Catanzaro (Italy) were processed for the presence of Campylobacter spp.Campylobacter spp. contaminated 43 samples of poultry product. The most frequent isolates were Campylobacter coli (34.9%) and Campylobacter jejuni (32.6%). The lowest resistance was found for gentamycin (27.9%) and cloramphenicol (32.6%). We also investigated prevalence of sensitivity to the most important antibiotics and we found that only 20.9% isolates were sensible to both ciprofloxacin and erythromycin.Our findings revealed a reduction in the overall contamination by Campylobacter spp. in raw meat. However, resistant and particularly multi-resistant strains were alarmingly spread, representing an increasing phenomenon that demands enforced interventions at multidisciplinary levels.

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of listeria species isolated from different types of raw meat in Iran.

Listeria and particularly Listeria monocytogenes are important foodborne pathogens that can cause listeriosis and severe complications in immunocompromised individuals, children, pregnant women, and the elderly. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Listeria spp. in raw meat in Iran. From July 2010 to November 2011, a total of 1,107 samples of various raw meats were obtained from randomly selected retail butcher shops. The results of conventional bacteriologic and PCR methods revealed that 141 samples (12.7%) were positive for Listeria spp. The highest prevalence of Listeria was found in raw buffalo meat samples (7 of 24 samples; 29.2%) followed by quail meat (26 of 116 samples; 22.4%), partridge meat (13 of 74 samples; 17.6%), and chicken meat (27 of 160 samples; 16.9%). The most common species recovered was Listeria innocua (98 of 141 strains; 75.9 % ); the remaining isolates were L. monocytogenes (19.1% of strains), Listeria welshimeri (6.4% of strains), Listeria seeligeri (3.5% of strains), and Listeria grayi (1.4% of strains). Susceptibilities of the 141 strains to 11 antimicrobial drugs were determined using the disk diffusion assay. Overall, 104 (73.8%) of the Listeria isolates were resistant to one or more antimicrobials, and 17.0% of the isolates were resistant to three or more antimicrobials. The present study provides the first baseline data on the prevalence of Listeria in raw meat derived from sheep, goat, buffalo, quail, partridge, chicken, and ostrich in Iran and the susceptibility of these isolates to antimicrobials.

Occurrence and Characterization of Shiga Toxin–ProducingEscherichia coliin Raw Meat, Raw Milk, and Street Vended Juices in Bangladesh

The major objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in different types of food samples and to compare their genetic relatedness with STEC strains previously isolated from animal sources in Bangladesh. We investigated a total of 213 food samples, including 90 raw meat samples collected from retail butcher shops, 20 raw milk samples from domestic cattle, and 103 fresh juice samples from street vendors in Dhaka city. We found that more than 68% (n = 62) of the raw meat samples were positive for the stx gene(s); 34% (n = 21) of buffalo meats and 66% (n = 41) of beef. Approximately 10% (n = 2) of the raw milk and 8% (n = 8) of the fresh juice samples were positive for stx. We isolated STEC O157 from seven meat samples (7.8%), of which two were from buffalo meats and five from beef; and no other STEC serotypes could be isolated. We could not isolate STEC from any of the stx-positive raw milk and juice samples. The STEC O157 isolates from raw meats were positive for the stx(2), eae, katP, etpD, and enterohemorrhagic E. coli hly virulence genes, and they belonged to three different phage types: 8 (14.3%), 31 (42.8%), and 32 (42.8%). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing revealed six distinct patterns among seven isolates of STEC O157, suggesting a heterogeneous clonal diversity. Of the six PFGE patterns, one was identical and the other two were ≥90% related to PFGE patterns of STEC O157 strains previously isolated from animal feces, indicating that raw meats are readily contaminated with fecal materials. This study represents the first survey of STEC in the food chain in Bangladesh.

Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxin A in breaded chicken products: detection and behavior during the cooking process.

In this study we examined the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) in 20 industrial breaded chicken products obtained from different retail butchers and supermarket stores in Italy. The levels of contamination in the products analyzed were quite low, although the pH values and water activities (a(w)) in the samples considered were in ranges favorable for S. aureus growth. As demonstrated by phenotypic and molecular characterization, in spite of the high percentage of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus strains, only three strains could be referred to the species S. aureus. Moreover, all the strains were negative in PCR assays targeting staphylococcal enterotoxin genes (seA to seE, seG to seJ, and seM to seO), as well as the toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 gene, and no SEA was detected in the retail breaded chicken samples analyzed by a reversed passive latex agglutination assay or by Western blotting. Hence, we evaluated the thermal resistance of two strains of SEA-producing S. aureus in a laboratory-scale preparation of precooked breaded chicken cutlets. The heat treatment employed in the manufacture determined the inactivation of S. aureus cells, but the preformed SEA remained active during product storage at 4 degrees C. The presence of the staphylococci and, in particular, of S. aureus in the retail breaded chicken products analyzed is a potential health risk for consumers since the pH and a(w) values of these kinds of products are favorable for S. aureus growth. The thermal process used during their manufacture can limit staphylococcal contamination but cannot eliminate preformed toxins.

Lack of transmission of foodborne and food‐poisoning pathogens across packaging materials employed in retail butchers’ shops

Lack of transmission of foodborne and food‐poisoning pathogens across packaging materials employed in retail butchers’ shops

A Training Course on Food Hygiene for Butchers: Measuring Its Effectiveness through Microbiological Analysis and the Use of an Inspection Checklist

The effectiveness of food hygiene training for a group of retail butchers was evaluated with the aim of verifying whether the butchers modified their behavior in the light of knowledge gained and whether their acquired knowledge or behavior change was sustained over a period of time. Microbiological analysis (enumeration of mesophilic and coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli) of a raw semiprocessed product (stuffed rolled beef) was conducted, and an inspection checklist was issued before the training course (T0). Initial results were later compared with results obtained 1 month (T1) and 6 months (T6) after the training. The checklist comprised 89 items classified into five categories: A, approved suppliers and product reception; B, storage conditions and temperature control; C, flow process, food handling procedures, and conditions of the window display unit; D, facility design and proper cleaning and sanitizing of equipment, utensils, and work surfaces; and E, pest control system, water supply control, and garbage disposal. The inspection results were recorded as “yes” or “no” for each item. Compliance with food safety procedures was recorded as the percentage of “yes” answers. The bacterial counts were significantly higher at T0. At T6, there was no significant increase in bacterial counts. There was a significant improvement in food safety practices at T1 and T6 compared with T0 for all categories. When comparing T0 and T1, the largest increases in the compliance scores were seen within categories C and D. No significant decrease in scores for compliance with food safety practices was observed at T6. Supervision and refresher activities may be necessary to maintain behavioral changes for a longer period of time.

A survey of food hygiene and safety training in the retail and catering industry

Describes a survey of food safety training for staff in the retail, care and catering industry. Training provisions were evaluated against the guidance in the relevant industry guides. Additional information was collected on the managers’ perceptions of and attitudes towards hygiene training. The extent and level of training of the retail butchers, who had to comply with the licensing regulations, was better than care homes and caterers of an equivalent size. Some of the care homes were not compliant with the training requirements of the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations. There was a similar lack of hygiene management systems in most of the catering businesses in this study but senior staff were better trained and were able to provide in‐house training to greater effect. All the businesses carried out on‐the‐job training, although in some this was restricted to induction training, the content of which was often ill defined. There was a lack of documented hygiene procedures, reinforcement strategies and very little refresher training activity. Many managers failed to provide feedback on performance, to test hygiene knowledge or praise good hygienic performance. Half of the managers were not trained to train, and often were untrained in elementary hygiene themselves. Some managers recognised that conditions in the workplace and time pressures could contribute to poor hygiene performances.

Effect of the Licensing Process on Hygiene in Retail Butchers' Premises in the West Midlands, United Kingdom

As the result of a change in legislation, all retail butchers in England were required to be licensed by 1 November 2000. A fully implemented hazard analysis critical control point plan was a condition of the license. This longitudinal study assessed the effect of licensing on hygiene in a group of retail butchers in the West Midlands, England. A hygiene audit and environmental sampling were used to determine if the licensing process improved hygiene in the study group. At the end of the study, 30% of the original group were no longer trading as they had been, having either altered the product they were selling or ceased to trade. The remaining butchers showed a significant improvement in the hygiene of their premises, both in the audit scores and in the environmental sampling. The mean audit score for the group had improved from an initial score of 47.54 to 54.95 (P < 0.02). The contamination with Enterobacteriaceae on equipment used for cooked meat had also improved, decreasing from mean contamination levels of 1.38 log CFU/cm2 before licensing to mean contamination levels of −0.11 log CFU/cm2 after licensing (P < 0.00001).

A national audit of retail lamb loin quality in Australia

A retail audit of lamb loin tenderness was conducted over a 12-month period to determine the variation in tenderness of Australian lamb. Tenderness was objectively measured using Warner–Bratzler (WB) shear force. Muscle pH and cooking loss were determined on all samples and colour was measured on a sub-sample of loins. A total of 909 midloins from retail butcher shops and supermarkets located in four Australian capital cities (Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Perth) were evaluated at four sampling times (December 1997 and March, June, and October 1998). Overall, 20.3% of all midloins purchased had a WB shear force value above the threshold level of 5 kg. Generic samples from Melbourne butcher shops were similar for WB shear force on average to the generic samples from Canberra and Sydney, whereas those from Melbourne supermarkets had significantly ( P<0.001) higher WB shear force and were in line with generic samples from Perth. In both Canberra and Perth, alliance (branded) lamb had a greater WB shear force ( P<0.05) than generic lamb. No relationship was found between price per kg and shear force ( r=0.02) for loins purchased in Sydney ( n=220). Price per kg differed between months ( P<0.001) and suburbs ( P<0.001), but not between retail butcher shops and supermarkets. Of the midloins tested, 10.3% had a pH above the critical point of 5.8. Midloins from the December 1997 sampling had a lower pH ( P<0.01) than those sampled at other months. Those sampled in Melbourne and Perth had a similar mean pH, which were lower ( P<0.001) than Canberra and Sydney samples. The findings from this quality audit suggest that there is room to improve the tenderness of Australian lamb sold in the domestic market. A lamb eating quality assurance system, based on set protocols, is one approach that is currently being investigated in Australia to ensure the supply of consistently high eating quality lamb to consumers.

An assessment of cleaning regimes and standards in butchers' shops

Cleaning regimes and standards in retail butchers taking part in the Accelerated HACCP project initiative, were assessed by means of visual inspection, examination of cleaning schedules and ATP bioluminescence assays of selected food and hand contact sites. There was a wide variation in surface ATP results, both within and between butchers' shops, but overall they indicated that food and hand contact surfaces were heavily soiled during food production and service. Although separate preparation equipment/utensils were provided, staff undertook raw and cooked product handling throughout the day, with the concomitant danger of contaminating hand and food contact surfaces. The extent of soiling was generally underestimated when assessed visually, the technique used most commonly by the food retail trade and inspection authorities. Periodic or interim cleaning practices produced a significant improvement in cleanliness assessed visually and with ATP assay; however, these results were generally less satisfactory than those obtained by the use of best practice protocols. A lack of written cleaning schedules and records, training in the correct use of cleaning products and awareness of the importance of cleaning hand contact sites were identified as common defects. The results are discussed in relation to the establishment of an effective HACCP system and recommendations for improving cleaning standards are given.

Escherichia coli O157 in cattle and sheep at slaughter, on beef and lamb carcasses and in raw beef and lamb products in South Yorkshire, UK

A 1 year study of Escherichia coli O157 in cattle and sheep at slaughter, on beef and lamb carcasses and in raw beef and lamb products from retail butchers’ shops was performed in the Sheffield area. Each month, samples of rectal faeces were collected immediately after slaughter from 400 cattle and 600 sheep, and 400–430 samples of raw meat products were purchased from butchers’ shops. Meat samples were also obtained from 1500 beef and 1500 lamb carcasses. All samples were examined for E. coli O157 by enrichment culture, immunomagnetic separation and culture of magnetic particles onto cefixime tellurite sorbitol MacConkey agar. Raw meat products were also examined for numbers of generic E. coli by a standard membrane culture method. E. coli O157 was isolated from 620 (12.9%) of 4800 cattle, 100 (7.4%) of 7200 sheep, 21 (1.4%) of 1500 beef carcasses, 10 (0.7%) of 1500 lamb carcasses and from 22 (0.44%) of 4983 raw meat products. E. coli O157 was isolated more frequently from lamb products (0.8%) than from beef products (0.4%). Numbers of generic E. coli in meat products reached seasonal peaks in July and August with counts of >10 4/g occurring more frequently in lamb products (50.8 and 42.4%, respectively) than in beef products (19.3 and 23.8%, respectively). The majority of E. coli O157 strains, from animals, carcasses and meat samples, were isolated during the summer. Most were verocytotoxigenic as determined by Vero cell assay and DNA hybridisation, eaeA gene positive and contained a 92 kb plasmid. The isolates were compared with 66 isolates from human cases over the same period. A combination of phage type, toxin genotype and plasmid analysis allowed subdivision of all the E. coli O157 isolates into 96 subtypes. Of these subtypes, 53 (55%) were isolated only from bovine faecal samples. However, 61 (92%) of the 66 isolates from humans belonged to 13 subtypes which were also found in the animal population.

Licensing of retail butchers' shops in England

Licensing of retail butchers' shops in England

Licensing of retail butchers' shops

Licensing of retail butchers' shops

The bacteriological quality of British beef 2. Frozen minced beef

Frozen minced beef was obtained from five commercial wholesale producers, and the aerobic plate count, and counts of coliforms, Escherichia coli type 1 and S taphylococcus aureus, determined. No E. coli O157:H7 or salmonellas were detected. The results were evaluated in relation to: (1) two earlier surveys involving fresh mince purchased from retail butchers and supermarkets in the UK ( Roberts et al., 1980; Hudson et al., 1986); and (2) the standards set out in Annex II of the Minced Meat Directive 94/65/EC. In respect to the latter, none of the 99 samples of mince examined was unsatisfactory.

The influence of carcass backfat thickness and intramuscular fat level on pork eating quality

The reduction in the mean backfat thickness of pigs that has occurred in the UK since a national pig carcass classification scheme was introduced in 1971 has shifted the distribution of P2 depths leading to a marked increase in the number of extremely lean pigs slaughtered. This trend in leaner pork has been accompanied by critical comment from the meat industry, particularly retail butchers, regarding the increasing incidence of meat quality problems among the ultra-lean carcasses at the leading edge of the frequency distribution. The complaints are of poor cutting, presentational and processing qualities and suggest that the flavour, juiciness and tenderness (eating quality) of meat from modern lean hybrids is lower than that from pigs produced some 20-30 years ago.