scholarly journals Development and Evaluation of an On-Line Hide Decontamination Procedure for Use in a Commercial Beef Processing Plant†

2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
XIANGWU NOU ◽  
MATTHEW S. OSBORN ◽  
DELL M. ALLEN ◽  
MOHAMMAD KOOHMARAIE

The hides of cattle are the source of Escherichia coli O157:H7 that contaminates beef carcasses during commercial beef processing. Therefore, effective interventions that reduce hide contamination should reduce subsequent carcass contamination. The first objective of this study was to identify the most effective reagents for decontamination of beef hides. Cattle hides draped over barrels were used for in vitro experiments to compare the efficacy of washes using 1.6% sodium hydroxide, 4% trisodium phosphate, 4% chlorofoam, or 4% phosphoric acid, each followed by a rinse step using either water or acidified (pH 7.0) chlorine at 200 or 500 ppm. All treatments using a water rinse reduced hide coliform counts by 1.5 to 2.5 log CFU/100 cm2. Compared with water rinses, 200 and 500 ppm acidified chlorine rinses increased efficacy by approximately 1.0 and 2.0 log CFU/100 cm2, respectively. Vacuuming of the treated areas to remove excess liquid improved hide cleanliness by an average of an additional 1.0 log CFU/100 cm2. The second objective was to evaluate the use of an on-line hide-wash cabinet that used a sodium hydroxide wash and a chlorinated (1 ppm) water rinse. Hides sampled before entering and after exiting the cabinet had aerobic plate counts and Enterobacteriaceae counts that were reduced by 2.1 and 3.4 log CFU/100 cm2, respectively, and the prevalence of E. coli O157 on hides was reduced from 44 to 17% when the cabinet was in use. Preevisceration carcass aerobic plate counts and Enterobacteriaceae counts were both reduced by 0.8 log CFU/100 cm2, and the prevalence of E. coli O157 on preevisceration carcasses was reduced from 17 to 2% when the cabinet was in use. These results support decontamination of hides as an effective means to reduce pathogen contamination of cattle carcasses during processing.

2004 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 646-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
TERRANCE M. ARTHUR ◽  
TOMMY L. WHEELER ◽  
STEVEN D. SHACKELFORD ◽  
MICHELLE ROSSMAN ◽  
...  

The objective of this experiment was to test the potential of a combined water wash and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) treatment as a hide intervention applied to cattle in the holding pens of a processing plant immediately before stunning. Over 2 processing days, 149 control and 139 treated cattle were tested. Control cattle were processed in the normal manner. The treatment group was prewashed with water the day before harvest. Immediately before stunning, these cattle were sprayed twice with 1% CPC, first for 3 min, then for 1 min. Hides and preevisceration carcasses were sampled to determine aerobic plate counts, Enterobacteriaceae counts (EBC), and Escherichia coli O157 prevalence. The treatment reduced the prevalence of E. coli O157 on hides from 56% to 34% and the prevalence on preevisceration carcasses from 23% to 3%. The treatment decreased aerobic plate counts from 4.9 log CFU/100 cm2 to 3.4 log CFU/100 cm2 and EBC from 3.1 log CFU/100 cm2 to 2.0 log CFU/100 cm2 on preevisceration carcasses. The treatment of hides did not result in any detectable CPC contamination of the chilled carcasses. These data indicated that a 1% CPC treatment preceded by a water wash was capable of reducing hide prevalence of E. coli O157 from as high as 80% to less than 50%, resulting in preevisceration carcass prevalence of 5% or less. We conclude that water washing followed by an antimicrobial treatment, such as CPC, has great potential as an effective hide intervention step and should be further evaluated for implementation as a processing step after stunning and before hide removal.


2004 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 658-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
TERRANCE M. ARTHUR ◽  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
XIANGWU NOU ◽  
STEVEN D. SHACKELFORD ◽  
TOMMY L. WHEELER ◽  
...  

The effectiveness of current antimicrobial interventions used in reducing the prevalence or load of Escherichia coli O157 and indicator organisms on cattle hides and carcasses at two commercial beef processing plants was evaluated. Sponge sampling of beef cattle was performed at five locations from the initial entry of the animals to the slaughter floor to the exit of carcasses from the “hotbox” cooler. For each sample, E. coli O157 prevalence was determined and total aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and E. coli O157 were enumerated. E. coli O157 was found on 76% of animal hides coming into the plants, but no carcasses leaving the cooler were identified as contaminated with E. coli O157. A positive relationship was seen between the incidence of E. coli O157 in hide samples and that in preevisceration samples. Aerobic plate counts and Enterobacteriaceae counts averaged 7.8 and 6.2 log CFU/100 cm2, respectively, on hides, and 1.4 and 0.4 log CFU/100 cm2, respectively, on chilled carcasses. Aerobic plate counts and Enterobacteriaceae counts on preevisceration carcasses were significantly related to the respective levels on the corresponding hides; the carcasses of animals whose hides carried higher numbers of bacteria were more likely to carry higher numbers of bacteria. Implementation of the sampling protocol described here would allow processors to evaluate the efficacy of on-line antimicrobial interventions and allow industrywide benchmarking of hygienic practices.


2014 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 713-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Schmidt ◽  
Getahun E. Agga ◽  
Joseph M. Bosilevac ◽  
Dayna M. Brichta-Harhay ◽  
Steven D. Shackelford ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTSpecific concerns have been raised that third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GCr)Escherichia coli, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-resistant (COTr)E. coli, 3GCrSalmonella enterica, and nalidixic acid-resistant (NALr)S. entericamay be present in cattle production environments, persist through beef processing, and contaminate final products. The prevalences and concentrations of these organisms were determined in feces and hides (at feedlot and processing plant), pre-evisceration carcasses, and final carcasses from three lots of fed cattle (n= 184). The prevalences and concentrations were further determined for strip loins from 103 of the carcasses. 3GCrSalmonellawas detected on 7.6% of hides during processing and was not detected on the final carcasses or strip loins. NALrS. entericawas detected on only one hide. 3GCrE. coliand COTrE. coliwere detected on 100.0% of hides during processing. Concentrations of 3GCrE. coliand COTrE. colion hides were correlated with pre-evisceration carcass contamination. 3GCrE. coliand COTrE. coliwere each detected on only 0.5% of final carcasses and were not detected on strip loins. Five hundred and 42 isolates were screened for extraintestinal pathogenicE. coli(ExPEC) virulence-associated markers. Only two COTrE. coliisolates from hides were ExPEC, indicating that fed cattle products are not a significant source of ExPEC causing human urinary tract infections. The very low prevalences of these organisms on final carcasses and their absence on strip loins demonstrate that current sanitary dressing procedures and processing interventions are effective against antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biprajit Sanyal

Therapeutic proteins face short half lives in vivo. Their high costs and associated toxicity effects of increasing dosage warrant exploration of methods to increase serum half-life. These proteins can be produced with native or engineered glycosylation sites, which has been shown to be an effective means of prolonging serum half-life. Engineered E. coli represents an economical route of production. I have been able to produce, purify and test the activity of three N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase isoform 2 in Escherichia coli and show glycosylation on peptides derived from Interleukin 29. I followed the activity of these enzymes on three candidate therapeutic proteins via lectin blotting. Data suggest the Homo sapiens orthologue of GalNAcT2 is the most efficient enzyme in the in vitro assays with all candidate therapeutic protein substrates displaying the Tn-antigen. Future research should investigate continuous assays for precise results as well as assaying native peptides as opposed to non-native ones.


2012 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 2213-2218 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN W. SCHMIDT ◽  
TERRANCE M. ARTHUR ◽  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
NORASAK KALCHAYANAND ◽  
TOMMY L. WHEELER

Bacteria are known to be present in the air at beef processing plants, but published data regarding the prevalences of airborne Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica are very limited. To determine if airborne pathogens were present in beef processing facilities, we placed sedimentation sponges at various locations in three commercial beef plants that processed cattle from slaughter through fabrication. For the 291 slaughter area air samples, E. coli O157:H7 was isolated from 15.8% and S. enterica from 16.5%. Of the 113 evisceration area air samples, E. coli O157:H7 was isolated from only one sample and S. enterica was not isolated from any sample. Pathogens were not isolated from any of the 87 air samples from fabrication areas. Pathogen prevalences, aerobic plate counts, and Enterobacteriaceae counts were highest for air samples obtained from locations near hide removal operations. The process of hide removal disperses liquid droplets, which may contact neighboring carcasses. Samples were obtained both from hide removal locations that were close enough to hide pullers to be contacted by droplets and from locations that were not contacted by droplets. Higher pathogen prevalences, aerobic plate counts, and Enterobacteriaceae counts were observed at locations with samples contacted by the hide removal droplets. We conclude that the hide removal processes likely introduce pathogens into the air via a dispersion of liquid droplets and that these droplets may be an underappreciated source of hide-to-carcass contamination.


2008 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 1752-1760 ◽  
Author(s):  
TERRANCE M. ARTHUR ◽  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
DAYNA M. BRICHTA-HARHAY ◽  
NORASAK KALCHAYANAND ◽  
DAVID A. KING ◽  
...  

Transportation from the feedlot and lairage at the processing plant have been identified as potential sources of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella hide contamination. The objective of this study was to perform a comprehensive tracking analysis of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella associated with beef cattle from the feedlot through processing. Cattle (n = 581) were sampled in a feedlot, then transported in multiple lots to three commercial, fed beef processing plants in the United States, where they were sampled again. Samples were collected from the tractor trailers prior to loading cattle and from the lairage environment spaces prior to entry of the study cattle. Pathogen prevalence on cattle hides increased on every lot of cattle between exiting the feedlot and beginning processing. Prior to loading cattle, E. coli O157:H7 was found in 9 (64%) of 14 tractor trailers. E. coli O157:H7 was detected in over 60% of the samples from each lairage environment area, while Salmonella was detected in over 70% of the samples from each lairage environment area. E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella isolates (n 3,645) were analyzed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The results of the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis tracking indicate that the transfer of bacteria onto cattle hides that occurs in the lairage environments of U.S beef processing plants accounts for a larger proportion of the hide and carcass contamination than does the initial bacterial population found on the cattle exiting the feedlot. Finally, the results of this study indicate that hide wash cabinets are effective in removing contamination derived from the lairage environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Thompson ◽  
M. N. Nair ◽  
I. Geornaras ◽  
J. N. Martin ◽  
B. McFarlane ◽  
...  

ObjectivesCattle weights have increased during the last couple of decades and have not always been accompanied by improvements in facility capabilities and management. Alongside quality issues of color, tenderness, and water holding capacity, issues such as sour muscles and bone taints are now appearing with great frequency in the meat industry. Development of off-flavor/sourness in deep muscles such as knuckles (vastus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and rectus femoris) has been a long-standing issue in the beef industry, however, has not been well characterized. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the cause, and characterize sour odor associated with beef knuckles using microbial, odor panel, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC–MS) analyses.Materials and MethodsKnuckles (n = 10) identified as having no sour odor (control), slight odor, or severe odor were collected from the fabrication line of a commercial beef processing plant. Sponge samples of synovial fluid and femur surface of the round were also obtained at the time of collection, for determination of anaerobic sporeformer counts. The collected knuckles were transported on ice to the laboratory where they were aseptically separated into two halves, with one half destined for microbial, odor, and GC–MS analyses on the day of collection (Day 0) and the other half for the same analyses after 35 d of vacuum packaged storage at 2°C (Day 35). For microbial analysis, 15 g of tissue was excised from the muscle surface and was analyzed for aerobic plate counts (Petrifilm Aerobic Count plates) and lactic acid bacteria counts (Lactobacilli MRS agar). Samples (5 g) for GC–MS were held at –80°C until analysis. The remainder of the sample was diced and used for trained odor panels. Data were analyzed using the ANOVA function in R (v. 3.5.1.), with a significance level of α = 0.05. Upon finding significant differences (P < 0.05) the means function was used to determine differences between groups.ResultsIrrespective of sourness classification of the knuckles, similar (P > 0.05) anaerobic sporeformer counts were obtained for the synovial fluid and femur surface. Additionally, muscle tissue samples from control, slightly sour and severely sour knuckles had similar (P > 0.05) aerobic plate counts and lactic acid bacteria counts. Odor panelists identified differences (P < 0.05) for all attributes between control and sour knuckles (slight and severe) on Day 0. Similarly, on Day 35, differences (P < 0.05) were observed between control, slightly sour, and severely sour knuckles for all attributes, with severe receiving the highest score for all categories. GC–MS results showed no differences (P > 0.05) between control and sour knuckles for propionic, butyric, isobutyric, and acetonic acid.ConclusionMicrobiological analysis found no differences in culturable organisms between control, slight, and severely sour knuckles on Day 0 or Day 35. However, odor panelists were able to identify differences between control and sour knuckles even after 35 d in vacuum packaging. GC–MS analysis did not indicate a statistical difference in the abundance of volatiles between the treatments, probably due to high variations within treatment groups.


2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 1393-1398 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
STEVEN D. SHACKELFORD ◽  
DAYNA M. BRICHTA ◽  
MOHAMMAD KOOHMARAIE

The hides of cattle are the primary source of pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 that contaminate preevisceration carcasses during commercial beef processing. A number of interventions that reduce hide contamination and subsequent carcass contamination are currently being developed. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of ozonated and electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) waters to decontaminate beef hides and to compare these treatments with similar washing in water without the active antimicrobial compounds. Cattle hides draped over barrels were used as the model system. Ozonated water (2 ppm) was applied at 4,800 kPa (700 lb in2) and 15°C for 10 s. Alkaline EO water and acidic EO water were sequentially applied at 60°C for 10 s at 4,800 and 1,700 kPa (250 lb in2), respectively. Treatment using ozonated water reduced hide aerobic plate counts by 2.1 log CFU/100 cm2 and reduced Enterobacteriaceae counts by 3.4 log CFU/100 cm2. EO water treatment reduced aerobic plate counts by 3.5 log CFU/100 cm2 and reduced Enterobacteriaceae counts by 4.3 log CFU/100 cm2. Water controls that matched the wash conditions of the ozonated and EO treatments reduced aerobic plate counts by only 0.5 and 1.0 log CFU/100 cm2, respectively, and each reduced Enterobacteriaceae counts by 0.9 log CFU/100 cm2. The prevalence of E. coli O157 on hides was reduced from 89 to 31% following treatment with ozonated water and from 82 to 35% following EO water treatment. Control wash treatments had no significant effect on the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7. These results demonstrate that ozonated and EO waters can be used to decontaminate hides during processing and may be viable treatments for significantly reducing pathogen loads on beef hides, thereby reducing pathogens on beef carcasses.


2001 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. WHYTE ◽  
J. D. COLLINS ◽  
K. McGILL ◽  
C. MONAHAN ◽  
H. O'MAHONY

Airborne microbial contaminants and indicator organisms were monitored within three poultry processing plants (plants A, B, and C). In total, 15 cubic feet (c.f.) of air was sampled per location during 15 visits to each plant and quantitatively analyzed for total mesophilic and psychrophilic aerobic counts, thermophilic campylobacters, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacteriaceae. The prevalence of Salmonella spp. in air samples was also evaluated. Significant reductions in total aerobic counts were observed between defeathering and evisceration areas of the three plants (P &lt; 0.05). Mesophilic plate counts were highest in the defeathering areas of all plants compared to equivalent psychrophilic plate counts. Enterobacteriaceae counts were highest in the defeathering areas of all three plants with counts of log10 1.63, 1.53, and 1.18 CFU/15 c.f. recovered in plants A, B, and C, respectively. E. coli enumerated from air samples in the defeathering areas exhibited a similar trend to those obtained for Enterobacteriaceae with log10 1.67, 1.58, and 1.18 CFU for plants A, B, and C, respectively. Thermophilic campylobacters were most frequently isolated from samples in the defeathering areas followed by the evisceration areas. The highest mean counts of the organism were observed in plant A at 21 CFU/15 c.f. sample with plants B and C at 9 and 8 CFU/sample, respectively. With the exception of low levels of Enterobacteriaceae recovered from samples in the on-line air chill in plant A, E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, or Campylobacter spp. were not isolated from samples in postevisceration sites in any of the plants examined. Salmonella spp. were not recovered from any samples during the course of the investigation.


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