Handbook of Meat Processing

Quality Assurance 549

(or the heat treatment before consumption)

does not reliably reduce the load of non -

spore - forming pathogenic bacteria (e.g., sal-

monellae or pathogenic strains of Escherichia

coli ) to an acceptable level. This is the case

with raw (spreadable) fermented sausages,

for example: if the manufacturing process of

raw fermented sausages does not guarantee a

5 - log reduction of salmonellae and E. coli

O157:H7, U.S. suppliers must provide cer-

tifi cates indicating that the meat has been

sampled and tested negatively for these

pathogens (Anonymous 1999 ; USDA - FSIS

1999b ).

Particularly for meat products with a long

shelf life, fat quality is critical, since high

levels of polyunsaturated fatty acid will lead

to early rancidity. The water - binding capac-

ity of the meat should be suffi ciently high for

the manufacture of cooked sausages, and

suffi ciently low for the manufacture of raw

cured/salted meats and fermented sausages.

Clear information on the origin of the raw

material is important. First, several risks

(e.g., contamination by chemical residues;

specifi ed risk materials such as central

nervous tissue from ruminants) must be con-

Assurance of Basic Hygiene

“ Basic hygiene ” or “ good hygienic practice ”
means a set of hygienic measures that are not
specifi c to individual products or processes.
In the ISO 22000 standard, these measures
are designated as “ prerequisite programmes ”
(PRP) and subdivided into “ infrastructural
PRPs ” and “ organizational PRPs. ” The PRPs
and their relationship to HACCP are visual-
ized in the “ House of Hygiene ” (Untermann
and Dura 1996 ; see Fig. 31.1 ).

Quality Assurance Plans for

Purchase, Selection, and Storage

of Raw Materials

The principles for suppliers ’ approval, pur-
chase of raw materials, and incoming goods ’
checks are specifi ed by various standards,
such as the International Food Standard (IFS;
see Table 31.1 ). The quality of meat products
is strongly affected by the quality of the raw
materials. Moreover, the price of meat con-
tributes markedly to the total production
costs. The microbiological quality is particu-
larly important if the manufacturing process

Infrastructural PRPs (buildings, equipment,

supply of resources, disposal of waste)

= Specific precautional measures to

ensure safety of individual

processes/products

HACCP

Organisational PRPs

Staff

hygiene

and

training

Cleaning

and dis-

infection

Pest

control

Prevention of

cross-

contamination

Control

of

material

flow

Control

of

storage

tempera-

tures

Figure 31.1. The “ House of Hygiene. ” (Modifi ed from Untermann and Dura 1996 .)