MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAMINATION

Moulds, virus and bacteria can all cause contamination of meat but bacteria are the main types of biological contamination in a meatworks.

WHAT ARE BACTERIA?

Bacteria – sometimes called germs or bugs – are very small creatures which have only one cell. Six million bacteria could fit on a match head and they can live almost anywhere.

Both carton and carcase meat samples are tested to identify bacterial contamination.