Meat spoilage

[1] There are numerous diseases that humans may contract from endogenously infected meat, such as anthrax, bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, salmonellosis, listeriosis, trichinosis or taeniasis.

[4] Bacterial genera commonly infecting meat while it is being processed, cut, packaged, transported, sold and handled include Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., E. coli, B. proteus, S. epidermidis and Staph.

[6] As these microorganisms colonize a piece of meat, they begin to break it down, leaving behind toxins that can cause enteritis or food poisoning, potentially lethal in the rare case of botulism.

[7] The industry-standard Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) system provides for a comprehensive quality management framework as a part of which such tests can be conducted.

Testing methods applied include phage and serological typing, direct epifluorescence filter techniques (DEFT) and plasmid profiling.