Abstract
Microorganisms significantly affect the quality and safety of meat and meat products; therefore, detection of microbiological contamination is important to assess the safety of retailed products. The present study was aimed to detect microbiological contamination of raw meats and processed meat products purchased from supermarkets and farmers' markets during 2024- 2025 in Latvia. Raw meat included poultry, beef, and pork, but meat products were smoked ham, smoked and boiled sausages, pâté, cutlets, and meat balls. Samples were investigated according to the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) methodology and detected microorganisms and microbial groups were the total microbial count (TVC), Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria spp. and Yersinia spp. All purchased meat products had acceptable microbiological quality in terms of TVC, Enterobacteriaceae and E. coli. The highest TVC levels were recorded in raw meat samples, while the highest concentrations of Enterobacteriaceae were found in raw meat obtained from farmers' markets, supermarkets and retail stores. The highest levels of E. coli were found in raw meat and processed meat. Differences in microbial contamination of meat and meat product could be related to the processing and hygienic practices at the retail level. Higher microbial contamination rates for raw products at the farmer market could be explained with difficulties to provide an adequate level of hygiene at the farmer markets in comparison with supermarkets.