Objectives

The overall objective of this RTD project, in line with the core European research priorities, is to capitalize on and advance the scientific and technical achievements through the development of SMAS, an effective and reliable safety assurance and quality optimization management system of meat products, extending from production to the table of consumer.

This will be realized through the systematic completion of the following objectives:

• Modelling the effect of food structure, microbial interactions and dynamic storage conditions on meat pathogens and spoilage bacteria
  
  
• Combination of validated pathogen growth models with data on prevalence/concentration, dose response and chill chain conditions for risk assessment without and with SMAS application.
  
  
• Development, modelling and optimization of TTI with accuracy to monitor microbiological safety of meat products.
  
  
• Development of SMAS into a user-friendly computer software.
  
  
• Evaluation of the applicability and effectiveness of SMAS in real conditions of meat distribution.
  
  
• Assessment of the industry acceptance of the TTI and the concept of chill chain management.
  
  
• Evaluation of European consumer attitude on use of TTI and correlation to quality.