摘要：Summary The term meat on the market or in processing implies muscles (muscle tissue) with skin or without it, depending on the kind of cattle, poultry or game, with belonging adipose or connective tissue, bones and cartilages, blood and lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes and nerves in a natural connection. Considering the chemical content, meat is a very favorable medium for growth and reproduction of different microbes. The main sources of primary (initial) microflora of meat are the animals themselves, workers who manipulate with meat, and production environment. Gram- negative bacteria, including intestinal bacteria Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., and Pseudomonas spp., prevail in primary microflora, while out of gram– positive bacteria, lactobacilli and enterococci are most frequently found. On a fresh carcass there could be expected a high mold count, of which Penicillium, Mucor and Cladosporium prevail, and Candida and Rhodotorula genera of yeasts. The survival of primary microflora of meat depends on the degree of contamination (total microbial count), type of microorganisms, chemical content and pH value of meat, then temperature and the presence of oxygen. On the one hand microorganisms are the causative agents of meat decay, but on the other, they contribute to ripening of meat, as well as to the final color, taste and odor of meat and meat products. Being familiar with optimal conditions of growth, development and reproduction of individual microbes enables managing the quality and sustainability of meat and meat products, as well as creating technological procedures of processing and methods of preservation. It is also a basis for a functional use of microbes in the production of meat products.
