Abstract
A total of 60 random samples of different chicken meat products (frankfurter, nuggets and strips) each of 20 samples, were collected from different supermarkets in Alexandria province and subjected to microbiological examination for assessment of their quality and safety.The mean values of aerobic plate count, coliforms count, enterobacteriaceae count, phychrophilic count and mold and yeast counts were 4.2x104±9.5x103, 2.5x103± 1.5 x103, 3.5x102± 1.27 x102, 1.31 x104 ± 4.88 x104 and 3.21 x102 ± 6.6 x101 cfu/g, respectively, for chicken frankfurter, 4.6 x104 ± 2.4 x104, 3.67 x102 ± 2.45 x102, 1.37 x102 ± 5.2 x101, 2.86 x104± 1.67 x104 and 7.20 x102 ± 2.46 x102 cfu/g, respectively, for chicken nuggets and 3.6 x104 ±4.8 x103, 3.60 x102 ± 8.3 x101 , 3.61 x102 ± 1.14 x102 , 29.82 x104 ± 19.44 x104 and 1.79 x102 ± 4.1 x101 cfu/g, respectively in chicken strips. Also the effect of different heat treatments on the E.coli O157:H7 were examined in chicken frankfurter and chicken nuggets. Results showed that in both products grilling was able to reduce the count of E.coli O157:H7 in chicken frankfurter more than boiling , also more than frying in nuggets.

Key words: Coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, Mold, yeast, E.coli O157:H7, Heat treatment