Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005Show full title

2.1. Meat and products thereof

a n = number of units comprising the sample; c = number of sample units giving values between m and M.
b For points 2.1.3 — 2.1.5 m=M.
c The most recent edition of the standard shall be used.
d The limits (m and M) apply only to samples taken by the destructive method. The daily mean log is calculated by first taking a log value of each individual test result and then calculating the mean of these log values.
e The 50 samples are derived from 10 consecutive sampling sessions in accordance with the sampling rules and frequencies laid down in this Regulation.
f The number of samples where the presence of salmonella is detected. The c value is subject to review in order to take into account the progress made in reducing the salmonella prevalence. Member States or regions having low salmonella prevalence may use lower c values even before the review.
g This criterion does not apply to minced meat produced at retail level when the shelf-life of the product is less then 24 hours.
h E. coli is used here as an indicator of faecal contamination.
i These criteria apply to mechanically separated meat (MSM) produced with the techniques referred to in Chapter III, paragraph 3, in section V of Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin.
Food category	Micro-organisms	Sampling plana		Limitsb		Analytical reference methodc	Stage where the criterion applies	Action in case of unsatisfactory results
		n	c	m	M
2.1.1. Carcases of cattle, sheep, goats and horsesd	Aerobic colony count			3,5 log cfu/cm2 daily mean log	5,0 log cfu/cm2 daily mean log	ISO 4833	Carcases after dressing but before chilling	Improvements in slaughter hygiene and review of process controls
	Enterobacteriaceae			1,5 log cfu/cm2 daily mean log	2,5 log cfu/cm2 daily mean log	ISO 21528-2	Carcases after dressing but before chilling	Improvements in slaughter hygiene and review of process controls
2.1.2. Carcases of pigsd	Aerobic colony count			4,0 log cfu/cm2 daily mean log	5,0 log cfu/cm2 daily mean log	ISO 4833	Carcases after dressing but before chilling	Improvements in slaughter hygiene and review of process controls
	Enterobacteriaceae			2,0 log cfu/cm2 daily mean log	3,0 log cfu/cm2 daily mean log	ISO 21528-2	Carcases after dressing but before chilling	Improvements in slaughter hygiene and review of process controls
2.1.3. Carcases of cattle, sheep, goats and horses	Salmonella	50e	2f	Absence in the area tested per carcase		EN/ISO 6579	Carcases after dressing but before chilling	Improvements in slaughter hygiene, review of process controls and of origin of animals
2.1.4. Carcases of pig	Salmonella	50e	5f	Absence in the area tested per carcase		EN/ISO 6579	Carcases after dressing but before chilling	Improvements in slaughter hygiene and review of process controls, origin of animals and of the biosecurity measures in the farms of origin
2.1.5. Poultry carcases of broilers and turkeys	Salmonella	50e	7f	Absence in 25 g of a pooled sample of neck skin		EN/ISO 6579	Carcases after chilling	Improvements in slaughter hygiene and review of process controls, origin of animals and biosecurity measures in the farms of origin
2.1.6. Minced meat	Aerobic colony countg	5	2	5x105 cfu/g	5x106 cfu/g	ISO 4833	End of the manufacturing process	Improvements in production hygiene and improvements in selection and/or origin of raw materials
	E.coli h	5	2	50 cfu/g	500 cfu/g	ISO 16649-1 or 2	End of the manufacturing process	Improvements in production hygiene and improvements in selection and/or origin of raw materials
2.1.7. Mechanically separated meat (MSM)i	Aerobic colony count	5	2	5x105 cfu/g	5x106 cfu/g	ISO 4833	End of the manufacturing process	Improvements in production hygiene and improvements in selection and/or origin of raw materials
	E.coli h	5	2	50 cfu/g	500 cfu/g	ISO 16649-1 or 2	End of the manufacturing process	Improvements in production hygiene and improvements in selection and/or origin of raw materials
2.1.8. Meat preparations	E.coli h	5	2	500 cfu/g or cm2	5 000 cfu/g or cm2	ISO 16649-1 or 2	End of the manufacturing process	Improvements in production hygiene and improvements in selection and/or origin of raw materials

Interpretation of the test results

The limits given refer to each sample unit tested, excluding testing of carcases where the limits refer to pooled samples.

The test results demonstrate the microbiological quality of the process tested.

Enterobacteriaceae and aerobic colony count in carcases of cattle, sheep, goats, horses and pigs:

• satisfactory, if the daily mean log is < m,

• acceptable, if the daily mean log is between m and M,

• unsatisfactory, if the daily mean log is >M.

Salmonella in carcases:

• satisfactory, if the presence of Salmonella is detected in a maximum of c/n samples,

• unsatisfactory, if the presence of Salmonella is detected in more than c/n samples.

After each sampling session, the results of the last ten sampling sessions are assessed in order to obtain the n number of samples.

E. coli and aerobic colony count in minced meat, meat preparations and mechanically separated meat (MSM):

• satisfactory, if all the values observed are < m,

• acceptable, if a maximum of c/n values are between m and M, and the rest of the values observed are < m,

• unsatisfactory, if one or more of the values observed are >M or more than c/n values are between m and M.