Efficacy of common antimicrobial interventions at and above regulatory allowable pick-up levels

Date

2022-05

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Abstract

Foodborne pathogens like Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC) and Salmonella spp. are the leading cause of illness and even deaths worldwide. Numerous antimicrobial interventions are being used in processing plants to reduce pathogens. To consider these agents as processing aids, the retained water cannot exceed 0.49% addition to product weight. The objective of this study was to evaluate the food safety efficacy of common antimicrobial interventions at and above required uptake levels for processing aids through spray and dip applications and to determine any influence on product quality in response to antimicrobial treatment. A multiple linear regressions analyses was done to observe the relationship between uptake level, log reduction of pathogens, and interactions of explanatory variables. Beef trim was inoculated with specific isolates of STEC or Salmonella strains. Trim was intervened with peracetic or lactic acid through spray or dip application. Meat rinsates were serially diluted and plated following the drop dilution method and an enumerable range of 2-30 colonies was used to report results after log transformation. For the quality evaluation, trim 90/10 and 50/50 was course grind and mixed to obtain three different lean levels. Portions of 1lb ground beef were placed on Styrofoam trays and overwrapped with PCV film. These packages were displayed in retail case for 96 hours and evaluated for instrumental color for each consecutive day, color and odor panels using trained panelists and for spoilage organisms at 0h, 48h, and 96h. An increase of 1% in uptake percentage will increase the reduction by 0.16 LogCFU/g. There is a statistical significance in the reduction of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella in relation to the uptake percentage (P < 0.01). Regression models showed two-way interaction between organic acid and trim for STEC (P = 0.007) and Salmonella (P = 0.006). Salmonella possessed a significant interaction between acid and method (P < 0.001). For the evaluation of ground beef for spoilage organisms a significant difference was observed for all lean levels across time (P < 0.001). Higher fat content ground beef showed higher color L* values and all lean levels showed similar mean values for + a*. A significant two-way interaction was observed for a* between time interval and organic acid for 73/27 and 80/20 ground beef (P < 0.01). A decrease in all color values was observed across time. Discoloration possessed a two-way interaction between time interval and organic acid for 73/27 ground beef (P < 0.001). As discoloration increased across time, redness values decreased. No significant differences were found for odor evaluation. An increase in uptake percentages showed a significant increase in reduction of pathogens on beef trimmings. Furthermore, Quality was not affected by the high and low uptake percentages of antimicrobial intervention.

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Keywords

Antimicrobial, Bacteria, Quality, Color, Odor

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