Good Morning,
I am working to develop some micro standards for our small further processing plant. I would like to be able to test our raw product coming in (beef, chicken) as well as our final product (sausages, hot dogs, deli meats). I have looked online for acceptable limits for micro testing, thinking APC counts but none to be found. I realize that I can test for absence of E coli 0157, but what about the broader test of APC. I want to be able to determine the freshness of a sample with APC counts but not sure how to set the parameters.
Should I be looking into a risk assessment or do I need to contact our local lab to find out what they suggest? We are a Canadian facility.