Text Box: 11:30 AM Text Box: MICROBIOLOGY Text Box: Characterization of select Ohio Small and Very Small meat processing plants and survey development through preliminary survey testing Text Box: Mary Kay Folk and Dr. Knipe Text Box: There is a critical need for evaluation of production facility factors that affect contamination of meat products, especially in plants with less than 500 employees. The unique challenges of these plants, such as lack of technical support, financial and physical flexibility, and highly variable operations, heighten the need for a detailed investigation to describe the production facility characteristics and assess what characteristics are associated with bacterial contamination of meat products. The overarching goal of this project is to disseminate practical information regarding microbial safety in the production of meat products to small and very small processors. This first step is to design an adequate survey instrument to elicit the information that can eventually be used to meaningfully evaluate smaller meat processors nationwide. This questionnaire is intended to inquire about processing plants’ physical, sanitation and production characteristics. That information will then be compared to the Salmonella test results from USDA FSIS. The Salmonella tests focus on processing of raw products. Therefore, the questionnaire is heavily weighted toward harvest practices and procedures during production of raw ground or not ground products. In many cases, the preliminary questionnaire asked open ended questions. The consistency of these plants has shown that some questions can be multiple choice with only a few selections and not risk losing substantial information in an “other” category. Concentration of cleaners and sanitizers used is not common knowledge, and in many cases is not standardized. Overall, the preliminary survey has stood up to field testing and with minor changes will provide high quality information as it is further distributed.