The collection of historical data resulted in data for 1530
different food products. Because most samples were analyzed for multiple parameters and both on day 0 and end of shelf life, this
resulted in a total of 3618 analyses. Table 1 shows an overview of
these historical data per parameter and per time of analysis (T0 or
TEoS). Only 2.94% of the products were positive for one of the three
pathogenic microorganisms and as little as 2 out of 1530 (0.13%)
samples exceeded the acceptable levels (Uyttendaele et al., 2010).
Moreover, in both cases the products (potato gratin and meatballs
in a tomato sauce) had been subjected to temperature abuse during
the shelf life (4-12 h at room temperature). These results indicate
that the current microbial safety of the examined REPFEDs is overall
satisfactory.