The environmental influences on the bacteriological quality of red and chicken meat stored in fridges

Abstract Objective To investigate the environmental influences on the bacteriological quality of red and chicken meats on fridges. Methods The environmental health status was determined by reliable and valid researcher-made checklist. Then 264 samples were gathered in two phases (at the entrance and three months later) and examined for total bacteria count, Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella spp. Results The result revealed that the mean of total bacteria count, E. coli and S. aureus densities had significant differences in two steps on chicken and the red meat samples ( P S. aureus  densities in chicken samples ( P E. coli density in red meat samples ( P Conclusions The results implied that the bacteriological quality of red and chicken meat fluctuates with environmental status (especially temperature, sanitary status and personal hygiene). Regular control, improving of sanitary health, and staff training are necessary for elimination of bacterial contamination.