Long-Term Effect of Alkaline, Organic Acid, or Hot Water Washes on the Microbial Profile of Refrigerated Beef Contaminated with Bacterial Pathogens after Washing†

1998 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
WARREN J. DORSA ◽  
CATHERINE N. CUTTER ◽  
GREGORY R. SIRAGUSA

The effect of 2% (vol/vol) lactic acid, 2% (vol/vol) acetic acid, 12% (wt/vol) trisodium phosphate, water at 72°C and water at 32°C washes on bacterial populations introduced onto beef carcass surfaces after treatment was determined for up to 21 days at 4°C in storage in vacuum packaging. Beef carcass short plates were collected from cattle immediately after slaughter and subjected to the above treatments or left untreated (C). Short plates were then inoculated with low levels (ca. <2 log10) of Listeria innocua, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Clostridium sporogenes cells contained in a bovine fecal cocktail. In general, growth of these four bacteria and of aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and pseudomonads was suppressed or not observed when lactic acid or acetic acid treatments were used. Bacteria introduced to trisodium phosphate-treated tissue underwent some growth suppression, but to a lesser extent than on acid-treated tissue, and in some cases grew as well as on untreated beef surfaces. Water washes at 72 or 32°C offered little growth suppression of pathogens during subsequent storage when these bacteria were introduced to beef tissue after treatment. The use of a final lactic or acetic acid wash during the Processing of beef carcasses offers some residual efficacy in suppressing pathogen proliferation during refrigerated storage, should these bacteria be introduced immediately after carcass processing.

1998 ◽  
Vol 61 (12) ◽  
pp. 1615-1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
WARREN J. DORSA ◽  
CATHERINE N. CUTTER ◽  
GREGORY R. SIRAGUSA

The effects of 2% (vol/vol) lactic acid (LA), 2% (vol/vol) acetic acid (AA), 12% (wt/vol) trisodium phosphate (TSP), 72°C water (HW), and 32°C water (W) washes on bacterial populations which were introduced onto beef carcass surfaces after wash treatments were determined up to 21 days of storage at 4°C of packaged ground beef prepared from the treated and inoculated carcasses. Beef carcass necks were collected from cattle immediately after harvest and subjected to the above treatments or left untreated (control). Neck meat was then inoculated with low levels (ca. <2 log10) of Listeria innocua, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Clostridium sporogenes contained in a bovine fecal cocktail. In general, growth of these four bacteria, aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and pseudomonads was suppressed or not observed in the ground beef when LA, AA, or TSP treatments were used as compared to the untreated control. HW or W washes offered little suppression of growth of pathogens during subsequent storage of ground beef when these bacteria were introduced onto beef tissue posttreatment. Of the treatments used, a final LA or AA wash during the processing of beef carcasses offers the best residual efficacy for suppression of pathogen proliferation in ground beef during long-term refrigerated storage or short-term abusive temperature storage if these bacteria contaminate the carcass immediately after carcass processing.


1997 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 619-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
WARREN J. DORSA ◽  
CATHERINE N. CUTTER ◽  
GREGORY R. SIRAGUSA

The microbial profiles of inoculated beef carcass tissue (BCT) were monitored during prolonged refrigerated vacuum-packaged storage following antimicrobial treatment. An industrial spray wash cabinet was used to deliver water (W), 1.5 and 3.0% lactic (LA) or acetic (AA) acid, or 12% trisodium phosphate (TSP) washes. Fresh unaltered bovine feces spiked with antibiotic-resistant strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria innocua, and Clostridium sporogenes were used to inoculate BCT prior to all treatments. The effect of treatments on bacterial populations was tracked by monitoring levels of specific-antibiotic-resistant(marked) bacteria along with mesophilic aerobic bacteria (APC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and pseudomonads for up to 21 days of storage at 5°C. Initial APC levels of approximately 5.6 log CFU/cm2 were reduced by 1.3to 2.0 log CFU/cm2 by LA, AA, and TSP treatments. Marked bacteria were reduced to <1.3 log CFU/cm2, remaining that way throughout the 21-day storage. TSP treatments were not different in effectiveness from acids for controlling growth of E. coli O157:H7 and C. sporogenes, but were less effective for APC, L. innocua, or LAB. The aerobic bacteria, L. innocua, and LAB had counts ≥7 log CFU/cm2 by 7 days in all but one case and by 14 days all had counts >7 log CFU/cm2 on the untreated controls and water-washed samples. Treatments generally added a degree of safety regarding the foodborne pathogens and pathogen models used for the present study when beef tissue was stored up to 21 days and in no case did the treatments appear to offer any competitive advantage to select microorganisms on BCT.


2000 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 1326-1332 ◽  
Author(s):  
CATHERINE N. CUTTER ◽  
MILDRED RIVERA-BETANCOURT

A study was conducted to determine if slaughter interventions currently used by the meat industry are effective against Salmonella Typhimurium definitive type 104 (DT 104) and two non-O157:H7 enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). Three separate experiments were conducted by inoculating prerigor beef surfaces with a bovine fecal slurry containing Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Typhimurium DT 104 (experiment 1), E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli O111:H8 (experiment 2), or E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli O26:H11 (experiment 3) and spray washing with water, hot water (72°C), 2% acetic acid, 2% lactic acid, or 10% trisodium phosphate (15 s, 125 ± 5 psi, 35 ± 2°C). Remaining bacterial populations were determined immediately after treatments (day 0), after 2 days of aerobic storage at 4°C, and after 7, 21, and 35 days of vacuum-packaged storage at 4°C. In addition to enumeration, confirmation of pathogen serotypes was performed for all treatments on all days. Of the interventions investigated, spray treatments with trisodium phosphate were the most effective, resulting in pathogen reductions of >3 log10 CFU/cm2, followed by 2% lactic acid and 2% acetic acid (>2 log10 CFU/cm2). Results also indicated that interventions used to reduce Salmonella Typhimurium on beef surfaces were equally effective against Salmonella Typhimurium DT 104 immediately after treatment and again after long-term, refrigerated, vacuum-packaged storage. Similarly, E. coli O111:H8 and E. coli O26:H11 associated with beef surfaces were reduced by the interventions to approximately the same extent as E. coli O157:H7 immediately after treatment and again after long-term, refrigerated, vacuum-packaged storage. It was also demonstrated that phenotypic characterization may not be sufficient to identify EHECs and that the organisms should be further confirmed with antibody- or genetic-based techniques. Based on these findings, interventions used by the meat industry to reduce Salmonella spp. and E. coli O157:H7 appear to be effective against DT 104 and other EHEC.


1997 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
WARREN J. DORSA ◽  
CATHERINE N. CUTTER ◽  
GREGORY R. SIRAGUSA

The fates of several bacterial populations on beef carcass surfaces were examined immediately following hot water washes (W) delivered through a beef carcass wash cabinet or application of steam-vacuum (SV). Additionally, the long-range effectiveness of W and SV on several bacterial populations was also determined during storage up to 21 days at 5°C under vacuum-packaged conditions. Fresh, unaltered bovine feces spiked with antibiotic-resistant strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria innocua, and Clostridium sporogenes were used to inoculate beef carcass tissue prior to W or SV treatment. All treatments were equally effective as is indicated by bacterial populations immediately following any of the treatments (P > 0.05); however, the combination of SV followed by W consistently produced arithmetically greater bacterial reductions. In general, all treatments produced initial reductions of up to 2.7 log CFU/cm2 for APC, lactic acid bacteria, and L. innocua, but by 14 days bacterial numbers had increased to levels of at least 7 log CFU/cm2. E. coli O157:H7 was initially reduced by as much as 3.4 log CFU/cm2 and did not grow to original inoculation levels for the duration of the experiment. Vegetative counts of C. sporogenes were initially reduced by as much as 3.4 log CFU/cm2, and numbers continued to decline for the duration of the study. These results indicate that the use of W and SV effectively reduces bacterial populations from beef carcass tissue immediately after treatment. Additionally, storage of treated tissue up to 21 days at 5°C did not appear to offer any competitive advantage to potentially pathogenic microorganisms.


2010 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 1864-1874 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVEN C. INGHAM ◽  
RYAN J. ALGINO ◽  
BARBARA H. INGHAM ◽  
RONALD F. SCHELL

We compared the survival of potential pathogen surrogates—meat-hygiene indicators (non–Escherichia coli coliforms), biotype I E. coli, and lactic acid bacteria starter cultures—with survival of an E. coli O157:H7 (ECO157:H7) inoculum in beef carcass intervention trials. Survival of one lactic acid bacteria starter culture (Bactoferm LHP Dry [Pediococcus acidilactici and Pediococcus pentosaceus]), a five-isolate biotype I inoculum, and a five-isolate non–E. coli coliform inoculum, was compared with survival of a 12-isolate ECO157:H7 inoculum in interventions by using beef brisket (adipose and lean), cod fat membrane, or neck tissue. Treatments were grouped by abattoir size: small (6-day dry aging; 22°C acid treatment [2.5% acetic acid, 2% lactic acid, or Fresh Bloom], followed by 1-day dry aging; hot water) and large (warm acid treatment [5% acetic acid or 2% lactic acid] with or without a preceding hot water treatment). Reductions in pathogen and surrogate inocula were determined with excision sampling. A surrogate was considered a suitable replacement for ECO157:H7 if the intervention produced a reduction in surrogate levels that was not significantly greater (P ≥ 0.05) than that observed for ECO157:H7. All three surrogate inocula were suitable as ECO157 surrogates for dry aging and acid spray plus dry-aging treatments used by small abattoirs. No one inoculum was suitable as an ECO157 surrogate across all intervention treatments used by large abattoirs. Effects seen on neck tissue were representative of other tissues, and the low value of the neck supports its use as the location for evaluating treatment efficacy in in-plant trials. Results support using nonpathogenic surrogate organisms to validate beef carcass intervention efficacy.


2000 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. DELMORE ◽  
J. N. SOFOS ◽  
G. R. SCHMIDT ◽  
K. E. BELK ◽  
W. R. LLOYD ◽  
...  

Hot water and solutions of acetic acid, lactic acid, or trisodium phosphate applied by immersion or spraying, chlorine solution applied by immersion, and exposure to steam in a pasteurization system, in a cabinet, or in combination with vacuum were evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing levels of bacterial contamination on samples of beef cheek meat, large intestine, lips, liver, oxtail, and tongue. Treated samples (five per treatment) and controls were analyzed for aerobic plate counts (APCs) on tryptic soy agar and for total coliform counts (TCCs) and Escherichia coli counts (ECCs) on Petrifilm. Acetic acid (2%) immersion and trisodium phosphate (12%) spraying and immersion for 10 s were among the most effective treatments in 16, 15, and 14, respectively, of 18 comparisons for reducing APCs, TCCs, and ECCs on four or more of the six variety meats tested. Acetic acid (2%) spraying, lactic acid (2%) immersion, and hot water (78 to 80°C) spraying for 10 s were among the most effective treatments for reducing APCs, TCCs, and ECCs on four or more of the six variety meats. Chlorine (0.005%) immersion and steam were among the least effective treatments for reducing APCs, TCCs, and ECCs on variety meats. The results indicated that interventions applied to decontaminate beef carcasses can also be considered for decontamination of variety meats.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Khalid Ibrahim Sallam ◽  
Samir Mohammed Abd-Elghany ◽  
Mohammed Abdullah Hussein ◽  
Kálmán Imre ◽  
Adriana Morar ◽  
...  

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of lactic acid (LA), acetic acid, (AA) and trisodium phosphate (TSP) spray on the microbiological population of beef carcass surfaces slaughtered in a traditional abattoir in Zagazig, Egypt. Higher microbial populations were determined on the shoulder than on the thigh surfaces, and meat sampling by tissue excision technique yielded significantly higher ( P < 0.01 ) microbial count than swabbing method. The application of LA (2%), AA (2%), and TSP (12%) sprays for 30 seconds significantly ( P < 0.01 ) reduced the microbial population counts on the beef surfaces by 0.9 to 2.2 logs. A complete inhibition of enterococci growth was achieved by LA and AA sprays. In general, LA and AA sprays were more efficient as antimicrobial agents than the TSP spray. Among the studied organisms, enterococci were the most reducible bacteria by LA and AA, followed by Enterobacteriaceae and coliforms, while Staphylococcus aureus being the least. This study also indicated that microbial populations determined on the shoulder were higher than on the thigh surfaces, and meat sampling by tissue excision technique yielded significantly higher ( P < 0.01 ) microbial count than swabbing method.


2004 ◽  
Vol 67 (12) ◽  
pp. 2703-2711 ◽  
Author(s):  
KONSTANTINOS P. KOUTSOUMANIS ◽  
LAURA V. ASHTON ◽  
IFIGENIA GEORNARAS ◽  
KEITH E. BELK ◽  
JOHN A. SCANGA ◽  
...  

The survival and growth of Listeria monocytogenes and spoilage microflora during storage of fresh beef subjected to different decontamination treatments was studied. Fresh beef inoculated with a five-strain mixture of L. monocytogenes (5.18 log CFU/cm2) was left untreated (control) or was immersed (30 s) in hot water (HW; 75°C), 2% lactic acid (LA; 55°C), hot water followed by lactic acid (HW-LA), or lactic acid followed by hot water (LA-HW) and then stored aerobically at 4, 10, and 25°C for 25, 17, and 5 days, respectively. Initial populations of L. monocytogenes were reduced by 0.82 (HW), 1.43 (LA), 2.73 (HW-LA), and 2.68 (LA-HW) log CFU/cm2. During storage, the pathogen grew at higher rates in HW than in control samples at all storage temperatures. Acid decontamination treatments (LA, HW-LA, and LA-HW) resulted in a weaker inhibition of L. monocytogenes (P &lt; 0.05) at 25°C than at 4 and 10°C. In general, the order of effectiveness of treatments was HW-LA &gt; LA &gt; LA-HW &gt; HW &gt; control at all storage temperatures tested. In untreated samples, the spoilage microflora was dominated by pseudomonads, while lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and yeasts remained at lower concentrations during storage. Brochothrix thermosphacta was detected periodically in only a limited number of samples. Although decontamination with HW did not affect the above spoilage microbial profile, acid treatments shifted the predominant microflora in the direction of yeasts and gram-positive bacteria (lactic acid bacteria). Overall, the results of the present study indicate that decontamination with LA and combinations of LA and HW could limit growth of L. monocytogenes and inhibit pseudomonads, which are the main spoilage bacteria of fresh beef stored under aerobic conditions. However, to optimize the efficacy of such treatments, they must be applied in the appropriate sequence and followed by effective temperature control.


2003 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 985-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. IKEDA ◽  
J. SAMELIS ◽  
P. A. KENDALL ◽  
G. C. SMITH ◽  
J. N. SOFOS

The objective of this study was to evaluate the survival and growth of acid-adapted and nonadapted Listeria monocytogenes inoculated onto fresh beef subsequently treated with acid or nonacid solutions. Beef slices (2.5 by 5 by 1 cm) from top rounds were inoculated with acid-adapted or nonadapted L. monocytogenes (4.6 to 5.0 log CFU/cm2) and either left untreated (control) or dipped for 30 s in water at 55°C, water at 75°C, 2% lactic acid at 55°C, or 2% acetic acid at 55°C. The beef slices were vacuum packaged and stored at 4 or 10°C and were analyzed after 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of storage. Dipping in 75°C water, lactic acid, and acetic acid resulted in immediate pathogen reductions of 1.4 to 2.0, 1.8 to 2.6, and 1.4 to 2.4 log CFU/cm2, respectively. After storage at 10°C for 28 days, populations of L. monocytogenes on meat treated with 55°C water increased by ca. 1.6 to 1.8 log CFU/cm2. The pathogen remained at low population levels (1.6 to 2.8 log CFU/cm2) on acid-treated meat, whereas populations on meat treated with 75°C water increased rapidly, reaching levels of 3.6 to 4.6 log CFU/cm2 by day 14. During storage at 4°C, there was no growth of the pathogen for at least 21 days in samples treated with 55 and 75°C water, and periods of no growth were longer for acid-treated samples. There were no differences between acid-adapted and nonadapted organisms across treatments with respect to survival or growth. In conclusion, the dipping of meat inoculated with L. monocytogenes into acid solutions reduced and then inhibited the growth of the pathogen during storage at 4 and 10°C, while dipping in hot water allowed growth despite initial reductions in pathogen contamination. The results of this study indicate a residual activity of acid-based decontamination treatments compared with water-based treatments for refrigerated (4°C) or temperature-abused (10°C) lean beef tissue in vacuum packages, and these results also indicate that this activity may not be counteracted by prior acid adaptation of L. monocytogenes.


1997 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 476-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
RANDALL K. PHEBUS ◽  
ABBEY L. NUTSCH ◽  
DAVID E. SCHAFER ◽  
R. CRAIG WILSON ◽  
M. JAMES RIEMANN ◽  
...  

The effectiveness of a recently invented “steam pasteurization” (S) process in reducing pathogenic bacterial populations on surfaces of freshly slaughtered beef was determined and compared with that of other standard commercial methods including knife trimming (T), water washing (35°C; W), hot water/steam vacuum spot cleaning (V), and spraying with 2% vol/vol lactic acid (54°C, pH 2.25; L). These decontamination treatments were tested individually and in combinations. Cutaneus trunci muscles from freshly slaughtered steers were inoculated with feces containing Listeria monocytogenes Scott A, Escherichia coli OI57:H7, and Salmonella typhimurium over a predesignated meat surface area, resulting in initial populations of ca. 5 log CFU/cm2 of each pathogen. Tissue samples were excised from each portion before and after decontamination treatments, and mean population reductions were determined. Treatment combinations evaluated were the following (treatment designations within the abbreviations indicate the order of application): TW, TWS, WS, VW, VWS, TWLS, and VWLS. These combinations resulted in reductions ranging from 3.5 to 5.3 log CFU/cm2 in all three pathogen populations. The TW, TWS, WS, TWLS, and VWLS combinations were equally effective (P &gt; 0.05), resulting in reductions ranging from 4.2 to 5.3 log CFU/cm2. When used individually, T, V, and S resulted in pathogen reductions ranging from 2.5 to 3.7 log CFU/cm2 Steam pasteurization consistently provided numerically greater pathogen reductions than T or V. Treatments T, V, and S were all more effective than W (which gave a reduction on the order of 1.0 log CFU/cm2). Steam pasteurization is an effective method for reducing pathogenic bacterial populations on surfaces of freshly slaughtered beef, with multiple decontamination procedures providing greatest overall reductions.


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