Specific microflora of packed meet - a review

Meat is an attractive medium for microorganism multiplication due to its composition. The microflora of unpacked meat or of meat packed in wrapping plastic foil is significantly different from the microflora of vacuum-packed or controlled-atmosphere packed meat. Dominant microorganisms of unpacked meat are some species of the genus Pseudomonas sp., namely Pseudomonas fragi, Shewanella putrefaciens, Psychrobacter and Acinetobacter, which largely contribute to meat spoilage. From vacuum-packed or controlled-atmosphere packed meat were isolated mainly Brochotrix thermosphacta, heterofermentative lactobacilli (L. cellobiosus), Carnobacterium sp. and Leuconostoc sp. Characteristic microorganisms of vacuum-packed meat were Leuconostoc carnosum, Leuconostoc gelidum and Carnobacterium divergens. Quantitative proportions of the groups of microorganisms in packed meat are related to meat pH value, plastic foil permeability for oxygen and type of packed product.