A 10 g aliquot of each meat sample was aseptically obtained. It was then homogeneized with 90 mL of sterile 1.5% peptone water in a Stomacher 400 (Colworth, London, UK) for 1.5 min. Aliquotes were serially diluted in peptone water and plated out following standard methodologies (ICSMF (International Commission on Microbiological Specifications), 1983)