Issues with the safety of microorganisms and stability of shelves of low-temperature-cooked meat may overshadow its advantages in sensory quality. Meat is an ideal growth medium for many microorganisms, including pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria monosporum, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and others. Traditionally, officials recommend cooking the product until the core temperature reaches between 63°C and 71°C to obtain safe meat. When cooking at lower temperatures, longer holding times are required to successfully inactivate microorganisms, so low-temperature cooking can also be designed according to the safe inactivation of the target microorganism.
 
Botinestean and others used the plate count method and the total number of colonies to evaluate the application of low-temperature cooking in the safety of beef at temperatures between 50 and 62°C. The results showed that the number of mesophilic microorganisms and cold-resistant bacteria decreased significantly after cooking. Roldan and others found that heating lamb tenderloin by a sous-vide cooker at a temperature of 60°C for 6 hours was sufficient to reduce the number of lactic acid bacteria, Gram-positive cocci, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Bacillus filamentous bacteria and Salmonella typhimurium to less than 1 CFU/g. Mesophilic microorganisms such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli are not considered pathogenic bacteria in slow-cooked products because they are heat-labile and cannot reproduce under good refrigeration conditions. They and Enterobacteriaceae are often regarded as indicators of hygienic processing conditions. It is of great significance to ensure the safety of the processing process, and it is necessary to pay special attention to this indicator when recommending low-temperature slow-cooking products to customers with immune deficiencies.
 
At temperatures between 53 and 58°C, the number of Listeria and the above-mentioned species can be effectively reduced. However, for Clostridium perfringens, higher standards are needed to ensure safety. Vaudagna and others suggested heat treatment at above 50°C and above 6.5 hours can reduce the content of Clostridium perfringens to a safe level, because this kind of microorganism can lead to food poisoning when we eat food containing too much of it. Duan and studied the growth and inactivation of Clostridium perfringens at different heating rates, and found that slow heating will lead to better heat resistance for microorganisms. The heating rate should be appropriately increased or the heating time should be prolonged. The minimum heating temperature should be above 53°C, preferably above 60°C. From a food safety point of view, people have been skeptical about the safety of low-temperature meat products. If the heating time is long enough, mesophilic microorganisms can be inactivated under mild conditions. However, more needs to be done to avoid the food safety risk brought by heat-resistant pathogens, which will also be a technical problem that we need to break through in the next stage.