The study included 41 samples collected from a total of 24 retail shops in Helsinki. The samples were analysed for microbiological quality on their use-by or best-before date. In addition to this, the storage lives given for the products were also recorded. In cases where the microbiological quality of a sample was found to be poor, a repeat sample was collected from the shop in question.
The samples included raw beef, pork or poultry meat or offal packed by shops themselves, cooked fish products and ready meals prepared or assembled by shops themselves. They were analysed for typical disease-causing bacteria and microbes that serve as indicators of hygienic quality.
Of the samples, 68% were found to be of good microbiological quality, 12% were passable and 20% were poor. No pathogenic bacteria, such as salmonella or listeria, were found in any of the samples. All of the samples were assessed as being acceptable based on an initial sensory assessment, and the temperatures of the products were primarily in line with legal requirements. The storage lives given for the products varied from the date of packaging to one to ten days from the date of packaging. There seemed to be no correlation between the microbiological quality of the products and their given storage lives.
A third of the samples analysed were of poor or passable microbiological quality. The reasons for passable or poor results included elevated total aerobic colony counts in raw meat or offal, as well as in cooked fish products. The reasons for passable or poor results in ready meal samples included elevated total aerobic colony counts or the presence of enterobacteria or moulds. These may indicate shortcomings in ingredient quality, age or handling or storage hygiene. Other potential reasons for microbial findings in poor and passable samples include incorrect cooking, cooling or storage temperatures or excessive storage times.
Although the results show that a large proportion of shops have a handle on the packaging of products and the setting of storage lives well enough, operators should continue to pay attention to packaging hygiene, temperature control and the setting and justification of storage lives for the products that they package themselves.
In Helsinki, operators have been instructed in the context of monitoring activities to carry out storage life analyses in accordance with national guidelines, and issues related to long storage lives have been tackled through inspections.
