The objective of this study was to investigate the
microbiological, serological, and
chemical properties in raw
ground beef consumed in İstanbul. For this purpose, a total of 127 samples of ground beef were obtained from different
regions in İstanbul. The mean total aerobic bacteria,
Escherichia coli
,and
Staphylococcus aureus
counts were 1.3 × 10
6
,
2.8 × 10
3
, and 3.1 × 10
3
cfu/g, respectively.
Salmonella
spp. were found positive in 4 (3.14%) of the ground beef samples.
None of the analyzed samples was found to contain horsemeat or pork, but 4 of them contained poultry, and 8 of them
contained mutton. Eight (6.29%) of all the samples were classified as fat-free minced beef and 49 (38.58%) of them as fatty
minced beef. Consequently, mincemeat offered to consumers
in İstanbul has low microbiological and chemical quality.
It was therefore concluded that routine controls (microb
iological, chemical, serological) on mincemeat have to be
performed in this country.