Microbiological examination of ready-to-eat foods and ready-to-bake frozen pastries from university canteens Original Research Article

During a 10-year inspection survey (2001–2010), a microbiological study of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and ready-to-bake frozen pastries from 15 canteens of the university campus was undertaken to determine their microbiological quality. The cumulative study revealed that the aerobic colony counts for the RTE product groups were as follows: from 106 to 108 CFU/g for 50% of sandwiches; under the detection limit (<10 CFU/g) for 88.6% of oven baked pastries; <105 CFU/g for 86.5% of desserts oven baked; from 103 to 109 CFU/g for desserts with dairy cream. The highest mean Enterobacteriaceae counts were recorded for desserts with dairy cream. The highest percentages of foodborne pathogens were: 20% Listeria monocytogenes and 12.5% Staphylococcus aureus in desserts with dairy cream; 17.5% Salmonella spp. and 8.5% presumptive Escherichia coli O157 in sandwiches; 14.6% Bacillus cereus in oven baked pastries. Aerobic colony counts were in the range 107–108 CFU/g for 48.8% of frozen pastries; whereas Enterobacteriaceae counts between 103 and 104 CFU/g were detected in 35.3%. Foodborne pathogens prevalences for frozen pastries were as follows: B. cereus, 31.8%; Salmonella spp., 28.6%; presumptive E. coli O157, 25%; S. aureus, 8.7%; L. monocytogenes, 8.7%. Improved sanitary conditions in the processing plants and precautionary measures are necessary for consumer protection.