The safety and quality of pork and poultry meat imports for the common European market received at border inspection post Hamburg Harbour between 2014 and 2015

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192550
• Publication Date: 2018-02-09T19:00:00Z
• Authors: Wiebke Jansen; Svenja Woudstra; Anja Müller; Nils Grabowski; Gundela Schoo; Bettina Gerulat; Günter Klein; Corinna Kehrenberg
• Keywords: Poultry meat; Biosecurity

Though imports of products animal origin into the European Union (EU) have to comply with legal requirements and quality standards community, food consignment rejections at external EU borders been increasing in recent years. This study explored microbiological metrics according national target critical values valid for samples consumer level 498 fresh poultry meat 136 pork filets from consignments subjected physical checks during clearing border inspection post Hamburg harbour between January 2014 December 2015 ISO standard methods. Quantitative results indicated that thresholds aerobic counts, Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli were never surpassed. Merely staphylococci, one sample (0.2%) 10 (9.3%) exceeded limit (3.7 log cfu/g). However, qualitative analyses revealed that, Staphylococcus aureus was present 16% 10% all samples, respectively, though no methicillin-resistant could be confirmed. Moreover, 50% 67% thereof 33 isolates confirmed as extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing coli. Only 1.2% unacceptable due presence Salmonella spp., whereas they not detected any sample. Campylobacter spp. imported complies mostly market requirements, it might pose a potential risk public health, especially direct or indirect foodborne transmission imported, uncommon strains zoonotic bacteria.