A total number of 105 samples of local beef luncheon sold in different local markets in Alexandria city were subjected to microbial analysis for assessment of their safety and quality. The results showed that the incidence of Staphylococcus aureus was 49.5 % in beef luncheon, while Salmonellae was not be detected. The mean values of aerobic bacterial count, coliforms count, Enterobacteriaceae count and mould and yeast count were 7.06x104 ± 1.4x104, 2.3x105 ± 1.4x105,8.5x103 ± 3.3x103 and 6.6x105± 1.6x105, respectively. The samples were subjected to mycological examination to evaluate the fungal load of beef luncheon. The results showed that the most predominant species were Penicillium (41%), Asperigellus (25%), Paecilomyces (10%), Fusarium (7%), Trichoderma (9%), Cladosporium (5%), Alternaria alternate (2%), Helminthesporium (1%) and Syncephalostrum (1%). This study showed the degree of contamination of beef luncheon, in addition to the public health importance of such contaminates had been discussed.
Key words: Beef luncheon, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus,Coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, Mould, Yeast.
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