Mould testing on Beef cuts

Hi all,

We are dry ageing our beef and a wide varience of moulds have appeared.

Obviously all external sides of the joints are removed before the products are sent out. can anyone explain how we could go about testing these moulds or what to test for? we use a UKAS accredited lab but i wouldnt know what im testing for and what we should be looking out for on the results.

Thanks!!

I was really disappointed no one answered this one....am not a meat expert but was interested in the answer. 

Hi,

Firstly...what colour is the mould? White, green, black? This is important!

Certain kinds of mould are not going to be too much of an issue but i would suggest a full wash / clean down of all rooms used for your dry aging as you will have spores everywhere. Do you use positive air flow control?

Get the lab to do a standard test (plate count) for moulds/yeasts - you will need to find out your local specs on what is considered safe etc.

Also - what are you currently doing with the mouldy product? Is it getting used and if so is it affecting your shelf life?