The main goal of this book is to provide the reader with the recent developments
in the safety of meat and processed meat, from the abattoir along the full
processing chain till the final product.
To achieve this goal, the proposal uses five approaches. The first part deals
with the main biological contaminants like pathogenic microorganisms,
specially E. coli and L. monocytogenes and toxins, meat spoilage and BSE
material that can be present in either meat or its derived products. The second
part is focused on main technologies for meat decontamination as well as other
developments like active packaging or bioprotective cultures to extend the shelf
life. The third part is presenting non-biological contaminants and residues in
meat and meat products including nitrosamines, PAH, veterinary drugs and
environmental compounds. The fourth part deals with current methodologies
for the detection of spoilage and pathogen microorganisms, prions and GMOs,
and the final part deals with predictive models, risk assessment, regulations on
meat safety and other recent trends in the field.
This book, which is written by distinguished international contributors from
18 countries with solid experience and reputation, brings together all the
advances in such varied and different safety approaches related to meat. I
thank the production team at Springer and wish to express my gratitude to
Susan Safren (editor) and David Parsons (editorial assistant) for their kind
assistance to this book.


Valencia, Spain