Aged meat not riskier than fresh meat

dry aged meat

Meat ageing is used either by dry or wet processing to break down the connective tissue, aiming in tenderising and giving the product a richer flavour.

 

There have been concerns about possible microbiological alterations during maturation that could lead to an accumulation of potentially pathogenic germs and spoilage bacteria.

 

An EFSA expert study concluded that under controlled conditions of temperature, general hygiene and processing times, no impact on the food safety of matured meat could be detected.

 

In the case of dry curing it was recommended that the surface temperature should not exceed 3 °C during processing. This precautionary measure prevented the growth of moulds and the formation of mycotoxins.

 

YOUR PLUS: To be on the safe side, you should consider having your matured meat checked regularly by professional microbiological testing offered by AGROLAB laboratories. We test not only for Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli ( STEC) and Campylobacter spp. but also for Clostridium spp., Yersinia and other pathogens using accredited classical microbiological tests or DNA-based methods.

Further information you find here. 

 

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger