Salmonella and Campylobacter Baseline in Retail Ground Beef and Whole-Muscle Cuts Purchased during 2010 in the United States

2012 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 2110-2115 ◽  
Author(s):  
JESSIE L. VIPHAM ◽  
MINDY M. BRASHEARS ◽  
GUY H. LONERAGAN ◽  
ALEJANDRO ECHEVERRY ◽  
J. CHANCE BROOKS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Modified Atmosphere Packaging ◽  
Ground Beef ◽  
The United States ◽  
Retail Markets ◽  
Beef Products ◽  
Pathogen Control ◽  
Biochemical Testing ◽  
American Cities ◽  
Whole Muscle ◽  
Campylobacter Spp

Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter spp. cause a considerable number of human illnesses each year, and the vast majority of cases are foodborne. The purpose of this study was to establish the baseline of Salmonella and Campylobacter in beef products purchased from U.S. retail markets. Sampling was carried out in 38 American cities. Retail raw ground and whole-muscle beef (n = 2,885) samples were purchased and examined for the presence of Salmonella. Samples testing positive for Salmonella were identified with the commercial BAX System, which is a real-time PCR–based system. Of the original samples purchased, 1,185 were selected and tested for the presence of Campylobacter. Positive samples were isolated via direct plating and confirmed via agglutination and biochemical testing. Salmonella was detected in 0.66% of the total samples purchased. The prevalence of Salmonella in ground beef packages was 0.42% for modified atmosphere packaging, 0.63% for chub packaging, and 0.59% for overwrapped packages. Salmonella was detected in 1.02% of whole-muscle cuts. There was no relationship (P = 0.18) between product type (ground or whole muscle) and the percentage of positive samples. Campylobacter was recovered from 9.3% of samples. A greater percentage (17.24%, P < 0.01) of whole-muscle cuts tested positive for Campylobacter compared with ground beef samples (7.35%). Estimating pathogen baselines in U.S. retail beef is essential for allotting resources and directing interventions for pathogen control. These data can be utilized for a more complete understanding of these pathogens and their impact on public health from the consumption of beef products.

Comparison of the Microbial Quality of Ground Beef and Ground Beef Patties from Internet and Local Retail Markets†

2009 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 1722-1726 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. PAO ◽  
M. R. ETTINGER
Keyword(s):  
Ground Beef ◽  
Foodborne Illness ◽  
Microbial Quality ◽  
Frozen Ground ◽  
Retail Markets ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Beef Patties ◽  
Beef Products ◽  
Careful Handling

This study evaluated the microbial quality of ground beef and ground beef patties sold at local (Virginia) and Internet (U.S.) retail markets. A total of 152 ground beef products, consisting of locally purchased raw ground beef (LRG) and frozen beef patties (LFP) and Internet-procured frozen ground beef (IFG) and frozen beef patties (IFP), were tested. Results showed that LFP had significantly lower levels of aerobic mesophiles, psychrotrophs, and coliforms than LRG, IFG, and IFP. Furthermore, IFG had greater numbers of Escherichia coli than LRG and LFP. No sample was contaminated with E. coli O157: H7, but one duplicate set of summer LFP samples contained Salmonella. Listeria spp. were present in 25 and 29% of samples from local and Internet markets, respectively. About 5.0, 11.1, 10.5, and 7.9% of LRG, LFP, IFG, and IFP samples were contaminated with L. monocytogenes. This study identified differences in microbial quality between local and Internet products. Careful handling and thorough cooking of ground beef products, regardless of market source, are recommended to prevent foodborne illness.

scholarly journals Microbiological Characterization of Imported and Domestic Boneless Beef Trim Used for Ground Beef†

2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 440-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
MICHAEL N. GUERINI ◽  
DAYNA M. BRICHTA-HARHAY ◽  
TERRANCE M. ARTHUR ◽  
MOHAMMAD KOOHMARAIE
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Microbiological Quality ◽  
Ground Beef ◽  
The United States ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Uremic Syndrome ◽  
Etiological Agents ◽  
Campylobacter Spp

The United States imports lean boneless beef trim from Australia (AUS), New Zealand (NZL), and Uruguay (URY) to meet demand for ground beef production. The reported incidence of and etiological agents responsible for foodborne diseases differ between these countries and the United States. Our objective was to determine whether current U.S. microbiological profiling adequately addresses the potential differences between foreign and domestic beef trim. We compared the hygienic status of imported and domestic (USA) beef trim by enumeration of aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. We also compared the prevalence of pathogens between imported and domestic samples by screening for the presence of Salmonella, Campylobacter spp., Listeria spp., and non-O157 Shiga toxin–producing E. coli (STEC). A total of 1,186 samples (487 USA, 220 AUS, 223 NZL, and 256 URY) of boneless beef trim were analyzed. Results of enumeration revealed significant differences between samples from all countries, with the lowest pathogen numbers in samples from AUS and the highest in samples from URY. Six Salmonella isolates (1 NZL, 1 URY, and 4 USA), 79 L. monocytogenes isolates (4 AUS, 5 NZL, 53 URY, and 17 USA), and 7 Campylobacter isolates (1 NZL, 1 URY, 5 USA) were found among the trim samples tested. Non-O157 STEC prevalence was 10% in NZL samples and about 30% in all of the other samples; 99 STEC strains were isolated. Serotyping of these isolates revealed that serotypes associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome were not different in prevalence between imported and domestic beef trim. Although it may be tempting to do so, these data cannot be used to compare the microbiological quality of beef trim between the countries examined. However, these results indicate that the current pathogen monitoring procedures in the United States are adequate for evaluation of imported beef trim.

scholarly journals Isolation and Characterization of Clostridium difficile Associated with Beef Cattle and Commercially Produced Ground Beef

2013 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
NORASAK KALCHAYANAND ◽  
TERRANCE M. ARTHUR ◽  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
DAYNA M. BRICHTA-HARHAY ◽  
STEVEN D. SHACKELFORD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clostridium Difficile ◽  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Ground Beef ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ground Meat ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Beef Products

The incidence of Clostridium difficile infection has recently increased in North American and European countries. This pathogen has been isolated from retail pork, turkey, and beef products and reported associated with human illness. This increase in infections has been attributed to the emergence of a toxigenic strain designated North America pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type 1 (NAP1). The NAP1 strain has been isolated from calves as well as ground meat products, leading to speculation of illness from consumption of contaminated meat products. However, information on C. difficile associated with beef cattle during processing and commercially produced ground beef is limited. To address this data gap, samples from various steps during beef production were collected. Samples from hides (n = 525), preevisceration carcasses (n = 475), postintervention carcasses (n = 471), and 956 commercial ground beef samples were collected from across the United States. The prevalence of C. difficile spores on hides was 3.2%. C. difficile spores were not detected on preevisceration and postintervention carcasses or in commercially produced ground beef. Phenotypic and genetic characterizations were carried out for all 18 isolates collected from hide samples. Twenty-two percent of the isolates were nontoxigenic strains, while 78% of the isolates were toxigenic. Toxinotyping and PCR ribotyping patterns revealed that 6 and 33% of the isolates were identified as NAP1 and NAP7 strains, respectively. This article evidences that the prevalence of C. difficile, specifically pathogenic strains, in the U.S. beef production chain is low.

Decreased Dosage of Acidified Sodium Chlorite Reduces Microbial Contamination and Maintains Organoleptic Qualities of Ground Beef Products†

2004 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 2248-2254 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
STEVEN D. SHACKELFORD ◽  
RICK FAHLE ◽  
TIMOTHY BIELA ◽  
MOHAMMAD KOOHMARAIE
Keyword(s):  
Shelf Life ◽  
Bacterial Contamination ◽  
Modified Atmosphere Packaging ◽  
Ground Beef ◽  
Sodium Chlorite ◽  
Modified Atmosphere ◽  
Application Rates ◽  
Lean Beef ◽  
Beef Products ◽  
Plate Counts

Acidified sodium chlorite (ASC) spray was evaluated at decreased dosages and application rates to determine its efficacy for reducing bacterial contamination on boneless beef trimmings used for production of raw ground beef products while maintaining desirable consumer qualities in the finished ground beef products. Two different applications of ASC (600 ppm applied at a rate of 1.3 oz/lb and 300 ppm applied at a rate of 1 oz/lb) were used to treat boneless beef trimmings before grinding. The effect of ASC treatment on 50/50 lean beef trimmings was greater than on 90/10 trimmings. ASC at 600 ppm reduced both the aerobic plate counts (APC) and Enterobacteriaceae counts (EBC) by 2.3 log CFU/g on 50/50 trimmings, whereas treatment with 300 ppm ASC reduced APC and EBC of 50/50 trimmings by 1.1 and 0.7 log CFU/g, respectively. Ground beef formulations of 90/10 and 73/27 were produced from the treated boneless beef trim and packaged in chubs and in modified atmosphere packaging. The efficacy of ASC spray treatment to inhibit APC and EBC over the shelf life of each ground beef product was monitored. The APC and EBC in ground beef chubs were reduced by 1.0 to 1.5 log CFU/g until day 20. The APC and EBC for products in modified atmosphere packaging were reduced 1.5 to 3.0 log CFU/g throughout their shelf life. Both decreased dosages of ASC were equally effective on 90/10 lean ground beef, but the 300 ppm ASC treatment was slightly better at reducing the EBC of 73/27 ground beef. The organoleptic qualities (color, odor, and taste) of the ground beef products treated with 300 ppm ASC were found to be superior to those treated with 600 ppm ASC. Our results indicated that decreased dosages of ASC reduce contamination and lengthen the shelf life of ground beef. Furthermore, the 300 ppm ASC treatment reduced bacterial counts while maintaining desirable organoleptic ground beef qualities.

Characterization and Virulence Potential of Serogroup O113 Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Beef and Cattle in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Feng ◽  
Sabine Delannoy ◽  
David W. Lacher ◽  
Joseph M. Bosilevac ◽  
Patrick Fach
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Shiga Toxin ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Ground Beef ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intestinal Epithelial ◽  
Virulence Potential ◽  
Beef Products ◽  
Genetic Profiles

ABSTRACT Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) of serotype O113:H21 have caused severe diseases but are unusual in that they do not produce the intimin protein required for adherence to intestinal epithelial cells. Strains of serogroup O113 are one of the most common STEC found in ground beef and beef products in the United States, but their virulence potential is unknown. We used a microarray to characterize 65 O113 strains isolated in the United States from ground beef, beef trim, cattle feces, and fresh spinach. Most were O113:H21 strains, but there were also nine strains of O113:H4 serotype. Although strains within the same serotype had similar profiles for the genes that were tested on the array, the profiles were distinct between the two serotypes, and the strains belonged to different clonal groups. Analysis by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat analysis showed that O113:H4 strains are conserved genetically, but the O113:H21 strains showed considerable polymorphism and genetic diversity. In comparison to the O113:H21 strains from Australia that were implicated in severe disease, the U.S. isolates showed similar genetic profiles to the known pathogens from Australia, suggesting that these may also have the potential to cause infections.

Non-O157 Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia coli in U.S. Retail Ground Beef

2014 ◽  
Vol 77 (7) ◽  
pp. 1188-1192 ◽  
Author(s):  
YEN-TE LIAO ◽  
MARKUS F. MILLER ◽  
GUY H. LONERAGAN ◽  
J. CHANCE BROOKS ◽  
ALEJANDRO ECHEVERRY ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Shiga Toxin ◽  
Ground Beef ◽  
The United States ◽  
Latex Agglutination ◽  
Retail Stores ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Beef Products

Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serotype O157:H7 and serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145 are the leading cause of STEC-associated infections in humans in the United States. In the United States, these organisms are considered adulterants in raw nonintact beef products and in intact beef destined to be made into or used in nonintact raw beef products. The objective of this study was to provide an estimate of the burden of the six serogroups of non-O157 STEC in ground beef obtained from retail stores across the United States. A convenience sample of commercial ground beef products (n = 1,129) were purchased from retail stores in 24 states from October 2011 to May 2012. The samples had various lean/fat proportions, muscle group of origin (chuck, round, sirloin, or not specified), and packaging types. For each ground beef sample, 25 g was inoculated in 225 ml of modified tryptic soy broth, stomached for 1 min, and then incubated at 41°C for 18 ± 2 h. These enrichment cultures were then screened for stx, eae, and O group genes using a commercially available, closed-platform PCR-based method. The potential positive samples were subjected to immunomagnetic separation and plated on modified Rainbow agar. Morphologically typical colonies were subjected to latex agglutination and PCR determination of stx and eae genes. Nine (0.8%) of the ground beef samples were potentially positive for at least one STEC serogroup after PCR screening. The serogroups detected by PCR assay were O26 (four samples), O103 (four samples), O145 (three samples), O45 (two samples), and O121 (one sample). No STEC isolates belonging to these serogroups were recovered from the sample cultures. The current research provides updated surveillance data for non-O157 STEC isolates among commercial ground beef products and information regarding the potential sources of contamination from different parts of beef trims destined for ground beef production.

scholarly journals Contemporary light sources and their impact on the discoloration and oxidation of fresh beef products

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jade Victoria Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Oxidation ◽  
Meat Quality ◽  
Ground Beef ◽  
Light Sources ◽  
Fresh Meat ◽  
Led Light ◽  
Beef Products ◽  
Retail Display ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Whole Muscle

Discolored fresh meat products in a retail setting are often perceived negatively by consumers when making purchasing decisions. Prolonging fresh meat color is critical for the retail industry in regard to sales and consumer perception. Variation in retail display settings can impact meat color shelf life from both a discoloration and oxidation standpoint. Lighting technologies are known to impact meat discoloration due to light intensities and temperature variations. A growing demand for the use of energy efficient lighting sources such as light emitting diode (LED) bulbs is being adopted in the United States. Therefore, it is imperative to know the impact these new lighting technologies have on fresh meat quality. Three trials were conducted to determine the impact of LED lighting technologies in comparison to commonly used fluorescent (both low [FLO] and high - UV [HFLO]) bulbs, and no light source (DRK). In a study conducted on ground beef from the Semimembranosus (SM) (n = 20) patties at two different fat levels (5 and 25 percent) had superior a* values, oxymyoglobin concentrations (MbO2), and lipid oxidation levels (TBARS) than those treated with LED or FLO light sources over 7 days of retail display. Patties displayed under LED bulbs had higher a* values and MbO2 concentrations than patties displayed under FLO light sources. Data indicated that the use of LED bulbs on ground beef promoted greater red color retention and less oxidation than FLO bulbs in a retail display setting. To evaluate retail display settings and fresh beef cuts further, two whole muscle cuts one color labile cut (Triceps brachii [TB]) (n = 20) and steaks from the SM (n = 20), known to be moderately color stable were evaluated under HFLO, FLO, and LED light sources over 7 days of retail display. For both whole muscle cuts, the use of HFLO light sources promoted greater redness retention as indicated by MbO2 and a* values, less lipid oxidation as indicated by TBARS values, and less undesirable metmyoglobin (MMb) formation in comparison to steaks displayed under FLO or LED light treatments. The use of LED bulbs for prolonged ground beef retail display was superior to other light sources. However, ground beef is rarely displayed in retail settings for an extended period of time. The use of LED bulbs showed no advantages when displaying whole muscle cuts. Therefore, data from this study suggests while from an energy efficiency standpoint LED bulbs can be beneficial to retail settings. However, from a fresh meat quality standpoint, there is no advantage from color or oxidative standpoint for using LED lights in a retail display setting for fresh beef products.

Health Care Cost Containment in Large American Cities

1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perry Moore
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cost Containment ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Health Care Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Agencies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Cost ◽  
American Cities

This research provides information about the health care cost containment efforts of local governments and agencies across the United States, particularly in large American cities. Survey results indicate that while the public sector lags behind the private sector, public agencies are beginning to match the cost containment efforts of private employers. While initiation of these efforts represents considerable recent progress, their tangible benefits are not yet apparent.

scholarly journals Population of American Cities: 1950-2009

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (16) ◽  
pp. 153-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Witold Wilczyński ◽  
Piotr Wilczyński
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Population Change ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Continuous Growth ◽  
Historical Outline ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Contrasting View ◽  
American Cities

Population of American Cities: 1950-2009Contrary to the industrial epoch, cities have been interpreted in the last fifty years as the places facing the greatest economic and social problems. A contrasting view has emerged only recently that takes cities as sites of economic dynamism and social vitality. The paper offers evidence on population change for 118 greatest cities of the United States of America to assess how their fortunes have changed from the 1950s to 2009. Considerable diversity of experience was revealed and seven categories of cities have been distinguished as far as their population change patterns are concerned. These categories range from the continuous growth from 1950 until today to continuous decline. The most dynamic cities are located in the Sun Belt and they are relatively small and new.On the opposite, the biggest and old industrial centres of the Rust Belt have been losing inhabitants. In general, the pattern of population change shows close relationship with the economic situation and in particular, is connected with the structural changes in society and economy, namely the structural shifts toward more services-oriented economy, and smaller households.Essentially the paper offers the historical outline of the population changes in the biggest American urban centres. It should be seen as an introduction necessary for the more advanced studies concerning the issues of employment, incomes, ethnic composition, and various social problems which could explain the changing fortunes of particular cities.

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