Evaluation of Near-Infrared Pasteurization in Controlling Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Sliced Ham
ABSTRACTThis study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of near-infrared (NIR) heating to reduceSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium,Escherichia coliO157:H7, andListeria monocytogenesin ready-to-eat (RTE) sliced ham compared to conventional convective heating, and the effect of NIR heating on quality was determined by measuring the color and texture change. A cocktail of three pathogens was inoculated on the exposed or protected surfaces of ham slices, followed by NIR or conventional heating at 1.8 kW. NIR heating for 50 s achieved 4.1-, 4.19-, and 3.38-log reductions in surface-inoculatedS.Typhimurium,E. coliO157:H7, andL. monocytogenes, respectively, whereas convective heating needed 180 s to attain comparable reductions for each pathogen. There were no statistically significant (P> 0.05) differences in reduction between surface- and internally inoculated pathogens at the end of NIR treatment (50 s). However, when treated with conventional convective heating, significant (P< 0.05) differences were observed at the final stages of the treatment (150 and 180 s). Color values and texture parameters of NIR-treated (50-s treatment) ham slices were not significantly (P> 0.05) different from those of nontreated samples. These results suggest that NIR heating can be applied to control internalized pathogens as well as surface-adhering pathogens in RTE sliced meats without affecting product quality.