Is Marinated Meat Contaminated With Germs?

In fact, tests years ago showed again and again that shrink-wrapped and ready-marinated meat was more frequently contaminated with pathogens. However, this has improved significantly in recent years. It is particularly important in this context that no pathogenic germs could be detected.

The reason for the tendentially higher susceptibility to the formation of germs is the storage of the meat, which finds a large number of buyers, especially during the barbecue season in summer. Frozen goods are often thawed for marinating in order to cover the increased demand. This is at least allowed for beef and pork. The same applies here: There is no risk to health. However, since the meat can lose its taste after thawing, marinated meat should always be transported sufficiently chilled. This is especially true on the way to the barbecue area when the summer temperatures are warm outside. If you want to minimize the risk of germs on your marinated meat, you should cook it carefully to kill possible pathogens.

If you want to be absolutely sure that there is fresh meat under the marinade, you can easily marinate it yourself. Another advantage compared to ready-marinated meat is that you can completely determine the taste yourself. Whether Mediterranean, fiery-spicy, or exotic-Asian: the possibilities are unlimited. But if you want it to be quick and uncomplicated, you can also use the shrink-wrapped product.