Aims: To establish the microbiological quality of ready-to-eat stuffing from retail premises in the north-east of England. To establish threshold levels of bacteria in the product for acceptance as a ready-to-eat food. To determine the relationship between the microbiology of the product and production processes. Methods and Results: A microbiological study of ready-to-eat stuffing using validated methods was performed on 147 samples from 139 retail premises. The determinants investigated were as follows: aerobic colony count, Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus spp., Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Results indicate that using current guidelines 76.3% were satisfactory, 15.6% were acceptable and 8.2% were of unsatisfactory quality. Conclusions: Unsatisfactory results were due to high aerobic colony counts, E. coli , Enterobacteriaceae and S. aureus . There were significant associations between bacteriological quality and temperature of storage, food hygiene training, product discard policy and confidence in management scores. Significance and Impact of the Study: The microbiology of ready-to-eat stuffing suggests that this is a relatively safe product. It is suggested that the product be placed in food category 3 in the current guidelines for ready-to-eat foods.