Foods for which criteria are set in the Regulation are broadly categorised as:
- Ready-to-eat foods
- Carcases
- Fresh poultrymeat
- Minced meat
- Meat preparations
- Meat products
- Mechanically separated meat
- Dairy products
- Egg products
- Live bivalve molluscs
- Fishery products
- Cooked crustaceans and molluscan shellfish
- Pre-cut fruit and vegetables (ready-to-eat)
- Sprouts and sprouted seeds
- Unpasteurised fruit and vegetable juices (ready-to-eat)
The Regulation sets two types of microbiological criteria:
1. Food safety criteria
2. Process hygiene criteria
Food safety criteria are used to assess the safety food. Process hygiene criteria are used to assess if the production processes is working hygienically. If test results for either type of criteria are unsatisfactory, food business operators must take the necessary action specified in the Regulation.