本研究探討由台南地區之傳統市場、超級市場及大型賣場購買126件即時食品，包括主食、肉類、海鮮及素食等不同種類，販賣溫度分為冷藏、室溫及熱藏三種，檢測項目包括總生菌數（aerobic plate count）、大腸桿菌群（coliform）、大腸桿菌（Escherichia coli）及金黃色葡萄球菌（Staphylococcus aureus）。實驗結果得知，126件樣品中檢出之總生菌數>105 CFu/g者，以傳統市場最多（21%），其次是超級市場（16%），而以大型賣場最少（12%）；不同種類即食食品中，以海鮮即食食品（20%）超出其他素食類（10%）、肉類（10%）及主食類（9%）食品許多；不同溫度下販售，以室溫（18%）最多、其次是冷藏（15%），而以熱存（13%）最少。利用卡方獨立檢定其不合格率之差異性，不同賣場及不同種類即時食品中檢出之coliform及E. coli之不合格率沒有顯著差異（p bb 0.05）；S. aureus以傳統市場的不合格率最高19%，其次是超級市場13%，大型賣場不合格率最低10% （p aa 0.05）；S. aureus以海鮮即食食品的污染率最高16%，主食及肉類即食食品有10%，以素食食品的不合格率最低6%（p aa 0.05）。販售於室溫中的即食食品之S. aureus污染率最高，其次是冷藏，而熱存者最低（p aa 0.05）。

This study was to assess the microbiological quality of commercial ready-to-eat (RTE) food products sold in southern Taiwan. A total of 126 RTE food samples, including staple, meat, seafood, and vegetarian food products, were purchased from traditional markets, supermarkets, and warehouse stores. These foods were kept at refrigerator, room temperature, or hot stored at the time of sale. Aerobic plate count (APC), coliform, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were evaluated. APC in excess of 5 log CFU/g was obtained in traditional markets (27 samples), supermarkets (20 samples), and warehouse stores (15 samples). Seafood products were the most contaminated compared to staple products, meat products, or vegetarian foods. The highest incidence of APC greater than 5 log CFU/g was detected from food products stored at room temperature. Refrigerator stored food products were the second incidence, followed by hot kept food products. No significant differences were found for coliform and E. coli among the various markets or food types (p bb 0.05). RTE food products sold in the traditional market, supermarkets, and warehouse stores contaminated with S. aureus were 19.0%, 12.7%, and 9.5%, respectively. The percentage of samples over-contaminated with S. aureus was 15.9% (seafood), 9.5% (staple and meat products), and 6.3% (vegetarian food products). RTE food products stored at room temperature had the highest contamination of S. aureus, followed by refrigerator and hot stored food products (p aa 0.05).