Efficacy of Home-Style Dehydrators for Reducing Salmonella on Whole-Muscle Chicken

2011 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 1079-1082
Author(s):  
M. J. D. WEBER ◽  
E. A. E. BOYLE ◽  
K. J. K. GETTY ◽  
N. M. HARPER ◽  
C. G. WEBER ◽  
...  

Home-style dehydrators commonly used by consumers have limited relative humidity (RH) and temperature control. To evaluate the effect of dehydrator load on temperature and RH and subsequent reduction of Salmonella on whole-muscle chicken, chicken breasts were rolled and cut into samples (1 to 2 mm thick, 6 by 6 cm2) and inoculated with a five-strain Salmonella cocktail. The samples were allowed to air dry for 15 min and then were loaded into home-style three-tray (3T) or five-tray (5T) dehydrators, with 12 chicken pieces per tray. No difference (P > 0.05) was observed in RH or temperature between the 3T and 5T dehydrators. Peak RH was 38% and gradually deceased to 8.5% after 6 h of drying. Temperatures peaked at 57°C after 6 h of drying. Dehydrator load had no effect (P > 0.05) on lethality for Salmonella. A reduction of 3.3 ± 0.2 log CFU/cm2 was observed after 6 h of drying. However, sample location affected Salmonella reduction (P < 0.05). Samples from the bottom tray had a 1.5-log reduction, whereas samples from the top and middle trays had 4.1- and 3.9-log reductions, respectively. The water activity of samples after 6 h of drying was 0.71 ± 0.17 regardless of tray location or dehydrator type. When chicken was dried in home-style dehydrators, increasing the dehydrator load did not increase RH or achieve greater Salmonella lethality. Tray location had a significant impact on Salmonella lethality. Adequate reduction of Salmonella on chicken was not achieved when chamber temperatures were below 57°C with limited RH throughout drying.

2010 ◽  
Vol 73 (11) ◽  
pp. 2034-2042 ◽  
Author(s):  
SARAH DIERSCHKE ◽  
STEVEN C. INGHAM ◽  
BARBARA H. INGHAM

Adequate lethality in jerky manufacture destroys appropriate levels of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus. Our goal was to evaluate the lethality of four home-style dehydrator processes against these pathogens. Whole-muscle beef strips were inoculated with L. monocytogenes (five strains), S. aureus (five strains), or a mixed inoculum of E. coli O157:H7 (five strains) and Salmonella (eight strains). After allowing for attachment, strips were marinated in Colorado-, Original-, or Teriyaki-seasoned marinade for 22 to 24 h and dried in three home-style dehydrators (Garden Master, Excalibur, and Jerky Xpress) at 57.2 to 68.3°C. Samples were taken postmarination; after 4, 6, and 8 h of drying; and after drying, followed by heating for 10 min in a 135°C oven. Surviving inocula were enumerated. With a criterion of ≥5.0-log CFU/cm2 reduction as the standard for adequate process lethality, none of the samples achieved the target lethality for any pathogen after 4 h of drying, even though all samples appeared “done” (water activity of less than 0.85). A postdehydration oven-heating step increased the proportion of samples meeting the target lethality after 4 h of drying to 71.9, 88.9, 55.6, and 77.8% for L. monocytogenes-, S. aureus-, E. coli O157:H7-, and Salmonella-inoculated samples, respectively, and after an 8-h drying to 90.6, 94.4, 83.3, and 91.7% of samples, respectively. Significantly greater lethality was seen with higher dehydrator temperature and significantly lower with Teriyaki-marinated samples. Heating jerky dried in a home-style dehydrator for 10 min in a 135°C oven would be an effective way to help ensure safety of this product.


2015 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 1954-1959 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANA R. GRADL ◽  
LINGXIANG SUN ◽  
EMILY L. LARKIN ◽  
STUART J. CHIRTEL ◽  
SUSANNE E. KELLER

The survival of Salmonella on fresh ginger root (Zingiber officinale) during drying was examined using both a laboratory oven at 51 and 60°C with two different fan settings and a small commercially available food dehydrator. The survival of Salmonella in ground ginger stored at 25 and 37°C at 33% (low) and 97% (high) relative humidity (RH) was also examined. To inoculate ginger, a four-serovar cocktail of Salmonella was collected by harvesting agar lawn cells. For drying experiments, ginger slices (1 ± 0.5 mm thickness) were surface inoculated at a starting level of approximately 9 log CFU/g. Higher temperature (60°C) coupled with a slow fan speed (nonstringent condition) to promote a slower reduction in the water activity (aw) of the ginger resulted in a 3- to 4-log reduction in Salmonella populations in the first 4 to 6 h with an additional 2- to 3-log reduction by 24 h. Higher temperature with a higher fan speed (stringent condition) resulted in significantly less destruction of Salmonella throughout the 24-h period (P < 0.001). Survival appeared related to the rate of reduction in the aw. The aw also influenced Salmonella survival during storage of ground ginger. During storage at 97% RH, the maximum aw values were 0.85 at 25°C and 0.87 at 37°C; Salmonella was no longer detected after 25 and 5 days of storage, respectively, under these conditions. At 33% RH, the aw stabilized to approximately 0.35 at 25°C and 0.31 at 37°C. Salmonella levels remained relatively constant throughout the 365-day and 170-day storage periods for the respective temperatures. These results indicate a relationship between temperature and aw and the survival of Salmonella during both drying and storage of ginger.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-559
Author(s):  
Elisângela Borsoi Pereira ◽  
Magali Soares dos Santos Pozza ◽  
Paula Martins Olivo ◽  
Osmar Dalla Santa ◽  
Suzana da Cruz Pires ◽  
...  

SUMMARY Cheese is the oldest form of preserving milk nutrients having nutritional, economic and cultural importance. The objective of this study was to identify the best time of the year for production, and period, in months, for maturation of traditional colonial cheese, through analysis of water activity, weight loss and counts of lactic acid, mesophilic microorganisms—proteolytic and lipolytic. Records of temperature and relative humidity (RH) were maintained. A completely randomized experimental design was used in a double factorial scheme, considering production periods and maturation times. For all production periods evaluated, there was a significant reduction in the periods for water activity values. The counts of lactic acid bacteria ranged from 104 to 109 CFU/g. There was also stability in the number of colonies for lipolytic mesophilic microorganisms, until the third month of maturation. Low counts of proteolytic mesophiles were observed for the samples produced in May and June (5.70 and 5.53 log), respectively. The production period for the months of May and June corresponding to RH of 80% and average temperatures of 15°C were the most effective for production. Due to the presence of Listeria, it is recommended to respect the minimum time of 60 days of maturation for commercialization.


2014 ◽  
Vol 77 (10) ◽  
pp. 1664-1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
TANYA D'SOUZA ◽  
MUKUND KARWE ◽  
DONALD W. SCHAFFNER

Peanut butter has been associated with several large foodborne salmonellosis outbreaks. This research investigates the potential of high hydrostatic pressure processing (HPP) for inactivation of Salmonella in peanut butter of modified composition, both by modifying its water activity as well by the addition of various amounts of nisin. A cocktail of six Salmonella strains associated with peanut butter and nut-related outbreaks was used for all experiments. Different volumes of sterile distilled water were added to peanut butter to increase water activity, and different volumes of peanut oil were added to decrease water activity. Inactivation in 12% fat, light roast, partially defatted peanut flour, and peanut oil was also quantified. Nisaplin was incorporated into peanut butter at four concentrations corresponding to 2.5, 5.0, 12.5, and 25.0 ppm of pure nisin. All samples were subjected to 600 MPa for 18 min. A steady and statistically significant increase in log reduction was seen as added moisture was increased from 50 to 90%. The color of all peanut butter samples containing added moisture contents darkened after high pressure processing. The addition of peanut oil to further lower the water activity of peanut butter further reduced the effectiveness of HPP. Just over a 1-log reduction was obtained in peanut flour, while inactivation to below detection limits (2 log CFU/g) was observed in peanut oil. Nisin alone without HPP had no effect. Recovery of Salmonella after a combined nisin and HPP treatment did show increased log reduction with longer storage times. The maximum log reduction of Salmonella achieved was 1.7 log CFU/g, which was comparable to that achieved by noncycling pressure treatment alone. High pressure processing alone or with other formulation modification, including added nisin, is not a suitable technology to manage the microbiological safety of Salmonella-contaminated peanut butter.


2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Grishkan ◽  
Marina Temina

<em>Aspergillus glaucus</em><span> is a fungus able to tolerate low water activity of the environment. Its dense growth and sporulation were found on basaltic stones with epilithic lichens after 14 years of storage at a temperature of 4–7°C and relative humidity of 14–18%. Dust and soil particles deposited on the lichen thalli and dissolved in the water condensed on the stones during the storage period, apparently served as a nutrient source for the fungus. Probably, strongly xeric water regime on basaltic stones suitable for <em>A. glaucus</em> did not allow mesophilic fungi to develop and prevented the xerotolerant fungus from competition with other microfungi for nutrient sources. It is also possible that specific cellular mechanism associated with the production of chaotropic compounds (such as glycerol) supported germination and development of <em>A. glaucus</em> at low temperatures, which were considered non-optimal for the fungus.</span>


2011 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 1741-1745 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. HANEKLAUS ◽  
K. B. HARRIS ◽  
M. P. CUERVO ◽  
O. I. ILHAK ◽  
L. M. LUCIA ◽  
...  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has a specific lethality performance standard for ready-to-eat products. To assist meat processing establishments in meeting the performance standard, USDA-FSIS developed Appendix A, which provides guidelines for cooking temperatures, times, and relative humidity. This project determined whether the USDA-FSIS performance standards for lethality were met when using parameters other than those identified in Appendix A to cook large hams and beef inside rounds. The effects of alternative lethality parameters on the reduction of Salmonella Typhimurium and coliforms and on the toxin production of Staphylococcus aureus were evaluated. Large (9- to 12-kg) cured bone-in hams (n = 80) and large (8- to 13-kg) uncured beef inside rounds (n = 80) were used in this study. The products were subjected to 1 of 10 treatments defined by combinations of final internal product temperatures (48.9, 54.4, 60.0, 65.6, or 71.1°C) and batch oven relative humidities (50 or 90%). For all treatments, at least a 6.5-log reduction in Salmonella Typhimurium was achieved. The coliform counts were also substantially reduced for both hams and rounds. Across all treatments for both products, S. aureus toxin production was not detected. The relative humidity did not alter the lethality effectiveness for any of the treatments. The final internal temperatures and relative humidity combinations used in this project achieved the lethality performance standard established by USDA-FSIS for fully cooked, ready-to-eat products.


2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (8) ◽  
pp. e02742-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuxiang Liu ◽  
Juming Tang ◽  
Ravi Kiran Tadapaneni ◽  
Ren Yang ◽  
Mei-Jun Zhu

ABSTRACTSalmonellaspp. exhibit prolonged survivability and high tolerance to heat in low-moisture foods. The reported thermal resistance parameters ofSalmonellaspp. in low-moisture foods appear to be unpredictable due to various unknown factors. We report here that temperature-dependent water activity (aw, treatment temperature) plays an important role in the sharply increased thermal resistance ofSalmonella entericaserovar Enteritidis PT 30 and its potential surrogateEnterococcus faeciumNRRL B-2354. In our study, silicon dioxide granules, as carriers, were separately inoculated with these two microorganisms and were heated at 80°C with controlled relative humidity between 18 and 72% (resulting in corresponding aw,80°Cvalues for bacteria between 0.18 and 0.72) in custom-designed test cells. The inactivation kinetics of both microorganisms fitted a log-linear model (R2, 0.83 to 0.97). Reductions in the aw,80°Cvalues of bacterial cells exponentially increased theD80°C(the time needed to achieve a 1-log reduction in a bacterial population at 80°C) values forS. Enteritidis andE. faeciumon silicon dioxide. The log-linear relationship between theD80°Cvalues for each strain in silicon dioxide and its aw,80°Cvalues was also verified for organic wheat flour.E. faeciumshowed consistently higherD80°Cvalues thanS. Enteritidis over the aw,80°Crange tested. The estimated zaw(the change in aw,80°Cneeded to changeD80°Cby 1 log) values ofS. Enteritidis andE. faeciumwere 0.31 and 0.28, respectively. This study provides insight into the interpretation ofSalmonellathermal resistance that could guide the development and validation of thermal processing of low-moisture foods.IMPORTANCEIn this paper, we established that the thermal resistance of the pathogenS. Enteritidis and its surrogateEnterococcus faecium, as reflected byDvalues at 80°C, increases sharply with decreasing relative humidity in the environment. The log-linear relationship between theD80°Cvalues of each strain in silicon dioxide and its aw,80°Cvalues was also verified for organic wheat flour. The results provide new quantitative insight into the way in which the thermal resistance of microorganisms changes in low-moisture systems, and they should aid in the development of effective thermal treatment strategies for pathogen control in low-moisture foods.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document