Relation between microbial levels of ready-to-eat foods and the monitoring of compliance with HACCP-based own control programs in small Danish food outlets

This study concerns the correlation between monitoring of hygienic levels by public food inspectors and observed microbial levels in two types of food, cream cakes and pasta salads sold by small enterprises. The microbial contents of pasta salads exceeded frequently 7 log CFU g−1 in outlets with highly satisfactory rankings by food inspectors. Contrarily, microbial contents of cream cakes were mostly below 5 log CFU g−1, in relatively high agreement with food inspectors’ ranking. The implications for monitoring compliance with HACCP-based own control programs in small food outlets are discussed.