Cooking treatments performed according to label instructions eliminated Salmonella Typhimurium (absence per
25 g) for contamination levels of 10 and 100 cfu/g but not for contamination levels of 1000 cfu/g. After improper
cooking, 26 out of 78 samples were Salmonella-positive, and 23 out of these 26 samples were artificially contaminated
with bacterial loads between 100 and 1000 cfu/g. Nine out of 26 samples provided quantifiable results
with a minimum level of 1.4 MPN/g in kebabs (initial inoculum level: 100 cfu/g) after grilling and a maximum
level of 170 MPN/g recorded in sausages (initial inoculum level: 1000 cfu/g) after grilling.
Kebabs were the most common Salmonella-positive meat product after cooking, followed by sausages, burgers
and extruded roulades; in relation to the type of cooking treatment applied, Salmonella Typhimurium was detected
mostly after frying