Table 8.

Safety of dry-aged meat production in Brazil.

Item	Answers
	N°	%
Did you ever have a problem with microbiological contamination?
No	25	67.6
Yes	10	27.0
Other initial problems	2	5.4
Total	37	100
Have you ever carried out microbiological analyses of aged meats?
No	17	45.9
Yes	13	35.1
No, but intends to	7	18.9
Total	37	100
What actions do you take to ensure product safety?
Empirical evaluation of the process, with adjustments of humidity and temperature, when necessary	25	53.2
Care with quality tools (GMP * and SOP **) and chamber hygienization	12	25.5
Frequent microbiological and physical chemical analyses	10	21.3
Total	47	100
What is the cleaning frequency of the aging chamber?
Periodically	2	5.4
At the end of each process	12	32.4
Weekly	10	27.0
Fortnightly	3	8.1
Monthly	9	24.3
Quarterly	1	2.7
Total	37	100
Do you remove the meat cuts before cleaning the chamber?
No	18	48.6
Yes	15	40.5
Cleaning between changes of batches	4	10.8
Total	37	100
Is your chamber exclusive for dry aging?
Yes	36	97.3
No	1	2.7
Total	37	100
Does your company have a specific area for handling dry-aged meat?
Yes	29	78.4
No	8	21.6
Total	37	100

* Good Manufacturing Practice; ** Standard Operating Procedures.