The p-nitroaniline test to asses the bacterial microbiota of raw ground meat aerobically stored.

The previously developed p-nitroaniline test for assessing the microbial load of meat surfaces has been now adapted to determine the microbial quality of raw ground meat. A good correlation (r=0.91) between bacterial count determined by the pour plate method and the p-nitroaniline test was obtained. The sensitivity of the new method was of the order of magnitude of 10(4)cfu/g. This method allows the assay of ground meat in approximately 2.5h, it does not require expensive equipment and the results can be interpreted both spectrophotometrically and visually. Additionally, it has been proven that the method is useful in estimating the microbial quality of raw meat irrespective of the species of Gram-negative psychrotrophic bacteria prevailing in the meat during refrigerated storage.