Abstract
Beef safety may be compromised by O157 and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) contamination. The capacity of surfactant micelles loaded with the plant-derived antimicrobial eugenol to reduce STEC on beef trimmings that were later ground and refrigerated for five days at 5 ± 1 °C was tested to determine their utility for beef safety protection. STEC-inoculated trimmings were treated with free eugenol, micelle-encapsulated eugenol, 2% lactic acid (55 °C), sterile distilled water (25 °C), or left untreated (control). Following treatment, trimmings were coarse-ground and stored aerobically at 5 ± 1 °C. Ground beef was then sampled for STEC immediately post-grinding, and again at three and five days of storage. STEC minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in liquid medium for free eugenol and 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-loaded micelles were 0.5% and 0.125%, respectively. STEC numbers on beef trimmings treated by sterile water (6.5 log10 CFU/g), free eugenol (6.5 log10 CFU/g), micelle-loaded eugenol (6.4 log10 CFU/g), and lactic acid (6.4 log10 CFU/g) did not differ compared to untreated controls (6.6 log10 CFU/g) (p = 0.982). Conversely, STEC were significantly reduced by refrigerated storage (0.2 and 0.3 log10 CFU/g at three and five days of storage, respectively) (p = 0.014). Antimicrobial treatments did not significantly decontaminate ground beef, indicating their low utility for beef safety protection.
Highlights
The O157 and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are known causes of human foodborne disease, inducing both acute and chronic sequelae ranging from mild diarrheal disease to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), renal failure and potentially death [1]
Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated 265,000 cases of STEC-associated human foodborne disease occur annually in the U.S.; 36% percent of these are reportedly associated with O157 STEC
The objectives of this study were to: (i) quantify the capability of free and micelle-encapsulated eugenol to produce statistically significant reductions in numbers of inoculated STEC on beef trimmings prior to beef grinding when applied at concentrations not likely to produce long-term negative impacts on consumer acceptability; and, (ii) determine the capacity of antimicrobial treatments applied to beef trimmings to inhibit STEC growth and/or reduce
Summary
The O157 and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are known causes of human foodborne disease, inducing both acute and chronic sequelae ranging from mild diarrheal disease to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), renal failure and potentially death [1]. Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated 265,000 cases of STEC-associated human foodborne disease occur annually in the U.S.; 36% percent of these are reportedly associated with O157 STEC and the balance the result of the non-O157 STEC [2,3]. In addition to E. coli O157:H7, six serotypes of the non-O157 STEC have been declared adulterants in fresh non-intact beef products by the U.S. Cattle have been identified as a reservoir for the STEC, potentially facilitating cross-contamination of beef products during handling of meat [7,8,9].
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