Purpose of Review The market for minimally processed products is constantly growing due to consumer demand. Besides food safety and increased shelf life, nutritional value and sensory appearance also play a major role and have to be considered by the food processors. Therefore, the purpose of the review was to summarize recent knowledge about important alternative non-thermal physical technologies, including both those which are actually applied (e.g. high-pressure processing and irradiation) and those demonstrating a high potential for future application in raw meat decontamination (e.g. pulsed light UV-C and cold plasma treatment). The evaluation of the methods is carried out with respect to efficiency, preservation of food quality and consumer acceptance. Recent Findings It was evident that significantly higher bacterial reductions are achieved with gamma-ray, electron beam irradiation and high pressure, followed by pulsed light, UV-C and cold plasma, with ultrasound alone proving the least effective. As a limitation, it must be noted that sensory deviations may occur and that legal approvals may have to be applied for. Summary In summary, it can be concluded that physical methods have the potential to be used for decontamination of meat surfaces in addition to common hygiene measures. However, the aim of future research should be more focused on the combined use of different technologies to further increase the inactivation effects by keeping meat quality at the same time.

Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases affect both public and animal health and require the development and contemporary implementation of suitable detection methods. A growing number of findings of the mesocercarial stage of the digenean trematode Alaria alata in game inhabiting wetlands have necessitated the development of a specific detection method. With the Alaria spp. mesocercariae migration technique (AMT), a specific and sensitive detection method is now available. To make the method accessible to the official controls, method validation is necessary. In this context, interlaboratory tests (IT) are a key factor to demonstrate both (1) the suitability of the respective method and (2) the reference materials. In the first IT performed on this issue, 15 laboratories from nine German federal states took part. Every lab received two negative and four positive standard samples each as well as a standardized examination device for AMT, and a standard operating procedure. All participating laboratories showed very good results in terms of qualitative analysis: 96.7 % of the samples were assessed correctly positive or negative. An analysis of the qualitative performance shows that 263 (58.4 %) of 450 mesocercariae that were inserted in the meatballs were identified by the participants, and 5 (33.3 %) out of 15 labs were able to count at least 70 % of the Alaria spp. mesocercariae. A direct comparison with the results of the German Trichinella IT, which were conducted since 2004, shows that the overall sensitivity of the AMT is even higher than that registered for the reference method for Trichinella detection (e.g. 93 % in 2010). Also, in terms of quantitative analysis, AMT stands up to the comparison with the results from the German Trichinella IT. The refinement of the implementation protocol of this innovative, easy-to-use and cost-effective method harbours great potential for further optimization and successful implementation in the official controls.