The effectiveness of a typical production process for eliminating Escherichia coli O157:H7 in directly acidified all-beef summer sausage was evaluated for formulations of different fat contents (approximately 8 and 17%) and types of direct acidulant (encapsulated citric or lactic acid). Raw batter inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 to an initial level of ca. 7.4 log cfu/g was stuffed into 64-mm casings and processed according to a thermal processing schedule used by a small commercial processor for directly acidified summer sausage products (maximum internal product temperature of 70C, followed by cold showering). For all-beef summer sausage, log reductions ranged from 5.3 to 5.5 cfu/g when product reached 64.4C (148F) internal temperature (IT) and 70C (158F) IT, and from 6.3 to 6.5 log cfu/g reductions when product reached 37.8C (100F) IT after thermal processing and cold showering. No differences in E. coli O157:H7 counts were observed for products with different fat or acid contents.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSA typical smokehouse-processing schedule was used to produce all-beef summer sausage, and four treatment combinations (8 or 17% fat and citric or lactic acid) were studied. Raw batter for all treatment combinations was inoculated with greater than 7.0 log of Escherichia coli O157:H7 populations.
Foodborne outbreaks have been linked to jerky produced under insufficient thermal processing schedules. Reduction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella serovars during thermal processing of chopped and formed beef jerky was evaluated under two processing schedules representative of those used by large-scale (LS) and small-scale (SS) jerky production facilities. Fresh chopped and formed all-beef jerky batter was inoculated with 5.8 to 7.3 log CFU of E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella per g, extruded into strips, and thermally processed by LS or SS schedules. A >or=5.0-log CFU/g reduction of both pathogens occurred with <10% relative humidity and a cumulative process of 44 min at 55.6 degrees C followed by 46 min at 77.8 degrees C into the LS schedule. Additional drying at 77.8 degrees C for 3.5 h was needed to achieve a water activity of 0.67 and a moisture-to-protein ratio (MPR) of 0.77. For the SS process, a >or=5.0-log CFU/g reduction of both pathogens occurred with 15 to 20% relative humidity and a cumulative process of 45 min at 52 degrees C, 60 min at 57 degrees C, 45 min at 60 degrees C, 45 min at 63 degrees C, 90 min at 68 degrees C, and finishing with 30 min at 77 degrees C. After processing for an additional 90 min at 77 degrees C, water activity was 0.60 while the MPR was 0.82. The LS and SS processes for producing chopped and formed jerky provided >or=5.0 log lethality to control E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella. However, both processes would require additional drying to achieve an MPR of 0.75 to be labeled as jerky.
Effectiveness of a typical production process for eliminating Escherichia coli O157:H7 in directly acidified venison with beef fat summer sausage was evaluated for formulations of different fat content (approximately 10.5 and 18%) and type of direct acidulant (encapsulated citric or lactic acid). Raw batter inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 to an initial level of c. 7.4 log cfu/g was stuffed into 64‐mm casings and processed according to a thermal processing schedule used by a small commercial processor for directly acidified summer sausage products (maximum internal product temperature [I.T.] of 68.3C, followed by cold showering). For all venison sausage, log reductions were 5.8 cfu/g when product reached 64.4C I.T., 6.1 cfu/g when product reach 68.3C I.T., and 5.9 cfu/g when product was cooled to 37.8C I.T. by cold showering. No differences in E. coli O157:H7 populations were observed for products with different fat or acid contents.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture/Food Safety and Inspection Service require sausage manufacturers to validate that their processes achieve a 5 log reduction of E. coli O157:H7. A typical smokehouse‐processing schedule was used to process direct acidified venison with beef fat summer sausage formulations of different fat content (approximately 10.5 and 18%) and type of direct acidulant (encapsulated citric or lactic acid. Raw batter for all treatment combinations was inoculated with approximately 7.4 log of Escherichia coli O157:H7 populations. Greater than 5.0 log reductions of E. coli O157:H7 populations were observed when product reached 64.4C internal temperature. No differences in log reductions were observed for products with different fat (10.5 or 18%) or acid (citric or lactic) contents. Therefore, small processors may utilize this processing schedule to produce venison with beef fat summer sausage with either a low or high fat content and with either encapsulated lactic or citric acid.
In 2003, the New Mexico Department of Health linked an outbreak of Salmonellosis with consumption of beef jerky. Due to the increasing commonality of foodborne illness associated with dried meats, in 2004 USDA/FSIS published the Compliance Guideline for Meat and Poultry Jerky Produced by Small and Very Small Plants, which addresses the issues of how to obtain adequate lethality and verify adequate drying. Small meat businesses that produce jerky products must validate that their processes achieve a 5-log reduction of E. coli O157:H7 and a > 6.5-log reduction of Salmonella. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of thermal processing temperatures and times on reducing E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in chopped and formed beef jerky.
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