Microbiological Quality of Some Frozen Meat Products Marketed in Van Province

In this study, microbiological qualities of chicken leg, chicken baguette, chicken breast, chicken wing, chicken offal, hamburger meatball, İnegöl meatball, Tekirdağ meatball, butcher meatball and pizzas consumed widely and marketed frozen in Van province were evaluated. Mean aerobic mesophilic microorganisms, E. coli, coliform, Enterococ-cus, Enterobactericeae, Lactobacillus, coagulase (+) S. aureus, Pseudomonas and yeast/mold numbers, pH and water activity values in samples analysed were between 1.48-5.44, 1.0-2.58, 1.0-3.27, 1.0-3.40, 1.0-3.99, 1.0-4.76, 1.3-3.91, 1.3-3.99, 1.0-3.66 log10 kob/g, 4.71-7.92 and 0.836-0.988 limits. While Salmonella species analysed were not found, sulphite reduction anaerobic spore-forming bacteria were found lower than the borderline of normal values ( 10) in all samples. At the end of the study, most of the samples were compatible with legal criteria. But at the same time, a lot of pathogens at low levels were found in samples analysed. Therefore, obviously, precautions such as HACCP applications from production to consumption stages should be taken in view of public health and food security concerns that need microbiological controls to be made routinely.