The numbers of Salmonella in RTE food products in this study
were mostly in the range of 0.3e10 MPN/g and one sample
exceeded 110 MPN/g. It is well established that risks to consumer
health may occur from the consumption of Salmonella-positive RTE
food products, because additional heat treatment by the customer
is not required. Thus, all these Salmonella-positive RTE food products
are considered as potential health hazards.
The high prevalence of Salmonella in the RTE foods of this study
indicated poor hygiene practices during product preparation and
marketing at a retail level. In China, these RTE foods undergo
thermal processing and are often sold unpacked and sliced. Because Salmonella is not heat resistant, post-processing contamination of
the heat-treated RTE foods must have occurred. It is known that
Salmonella has the ability to colonize different food contact surfaces
to form a biofilm (Joseph, Otta, & Karunasagar, 2001), including
cutting boards, knives, utensils, and work surfaces, which then
become continuous sources of contamination of the RTE products
(Christison, Lindsay, & von Holy, 2008; Lues & Van Tonder, 2007).
Therefore, the Chinese food safety management should implement
further supervision for RTE food products as well as the implementation
of Good Hygiene Practices (GHP).