In 2026, microbiological risk management for refrigerated meat is becoming a central focus of official controls in the European Union, amid intensified food safety requirements and updated EFSA guidelines. Authorities no longer assess compliance solely against final thresholds, but also the operators’ ability to continuously control risks across the entire technological chain, from reception to distribution.

European assessments show that the main sources of non-compliance in refrigerated meat are associated with temperature variations at intermediate stages, excessive handling, and the lack of correlation between production data and monitoring data. In 2026, controls examine whether operators can demonstrate cold chain stability through continuous records and documented responses to any deviation, regardless of its duration.

DG SANTE emphasizes that batch traceability must be functional, not merely declarative. Inspectors verify whether data on temperature, storage time, and product movement are integrated and can be quickly correlated in the event of an alert. The absence of such correlation is considered a structural risk, even in the absence of obvious microbiological exceedances in the final product.

EFSA indicates that, for refrigerated meat, the accumulation of minor but repeated deviations can significantly reduce microbiological shelf life without generating immediate signals in final testing. In this context, the use of additional operational indicators is recommended, such as intermediate surface checks and the assessment of handling frequency within the process flow.

For processors in Romania, these requirements imply a more analytical approach to risk. Microbiological control is no longer treated as an isolated verification step, but as the result of process coherence. In 2026, the ability to demonstrate preventive, documented, and continuous control over refrigerated meat becomes an essential criterion for compliance, commercial stability, and access to the European market.

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