Quality evaluation of selected foods of animal origin was based on the results made available by the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Bydgoszcz. Analyses involved a total of 24 289 samples collected in the years 1999-2003. Samples of drinking milk, milk products, butter, ice-cream, meat and meat products, tinned meat and animal fat were investigated for the occurrence of microbiological and chemical contaminations and poor organoleptic qualities. The main reason for disqualification of foods of animal origin was microbiological contamination (5.35-11.48%), which was followed by undesirable organoleptic traits (0.36-0.82%) and chemical contamination (0.38-0.92%). In the investigated period, the quality of the milk products and meat and meat products was observed to improve. The greatest improvement of the quality was reported in the case of meat and meat products, and drinking milk (ca. 10 and 8%, respectively).