{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T03:28:16Z","timestamp":1785900496185,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":73,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770595200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012705","name":"Masovian Unit","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RPMA.01.02.00-14-b496\/18"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RPMA.01.02.00-14-b496\/18"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012705","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Low-processed ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products are highly vulnerable to microbial contamination, yet data on in-process dynamics remain limited. This study investigated microbial dynamics and environmental hygiene during the production of vacuum-packed RTE pork bars containing dried plasma, with a focus on identifying process-inherent contamination risks. Samples were collected at successive processing stages and from food-contact and non-food-contact surfaces. Process hygiene was assessed using indicator organisms (Aerobic Plate Count, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, yeast and mold, E. coli, S. aureus counts), while food safety relevance was addressed by monitoring Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. Microbial counts increased by approximately 1.5\u20132.3 log CFU\/g between early processing steps, indicating that these operations are critical contamination-prone steps. Environmental monitoring revealed contamination hotspots on frequently handled surfaces, highlighting the vulnerability of pre- and post-lethality stages. Despite the baking achieving a mean microbial reduction of ~3 log CFU\/g, consistent with effective thermal processing, low-level microbial reappearance during packaging and maturation indicated the potential for post-process contamination. The results demonstrate that production-inherent factors largely drive microbial contamination patterns and may persist even in facilities operating under implemented GHP, GMP, and HACCP-based procedures, highlighting step-specific limitations rather than system failure. By providing empirical data on in-process microbial dynamics, this study supports both scientifically based and risk-based approaches within Food Safety Management Systems, offering transferable insights applicable to similar RTE meat production environments. The findings may assist food business operators in optimising targeted control measures and strengthening risk-based decision-making in low-processed RTE meat production.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15040618","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T14:05:15Z","timestamp":1770645915000},"page":"618","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["In-Process Microbial Load Dynamics and Production Environment Microbial Hygiene in the Manufacturing of Low-Processed Vacuum-Packed RTE Pork Bar with Dried Plasma"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9032-5735","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pawe\u0142","family":"Pniewski","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health Protection, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0554-6921","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dorota","family":"Chrobak-Chmiel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Microbiology, Department of Preclinical Sciences, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8561-6223","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Micha\u0142","family":"Tracz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health Protection, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8116-8491","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Krzysztof","family":"Anusz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health Protection, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2283-153X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"El\u017cbieta","family":"Ha\u0107-Szyma\u0144czuk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Biotechnology and Microbiology, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edyta","family":"Lipi\u0144ska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Biotechnology and Microbiology, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7445-6375","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ma\u0142gorzata","family":"Ziarno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Technology and Assessment, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Pyziel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Protection and Animal Welfare, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toru\u0144, Yuri Gagarin 11, 87-100 Toru\u0144, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8599-366X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kinga","family":"Domrazek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Small Animal Reproduction Laboratory, Department of Small Animal Diseases with Clinic, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Agnieszka","family":"Jackowska-Tracz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health Protection, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2025, December 08). 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