Abstract

Objective: To investigate the environmental influences on the bacteriological quality of red and chicken meats on fridges. Methods: The environmental health status was determined by reliable and valid researcher-made checklist. Then 264 samples were gathered in two phases (at the entrance and three months later) and examined for total bacteria count, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella spp. Results: The result revealed that the mean of total bacteria count, E. coli and S. aureus densities had significant differences in two steps on chicken and the red meat samples (P < 0.05). Among the environmental factors, sanitary status, temperature and personal hygiene had significant effects on total bacteria count and S. aureus densities in chicken samples (P < 0.05), and between wastewater and solid waste disposal with E. coli density in red meat samples (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The results implied that the bacteriological quality of red and chicken meat fluctuates with environmental status (especially temperature, sanitary status and personal hygiene). Regular control, improving of sanitary health, and staff training are necessary for elimination of bacterial contamination.