Behaviour of E. coli 0157:H7 strains in model system and in raw meat by hpp: Microbial and technological aspects

Abstract

Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) is an important pathogen which can cause serious illnesses in humans. It is of particular importance to the meat industry to be able to completely destroy E. coli. A technique used to destroy E. coli could be the high pressure process. For this reason a mixture of 8 strains of E. coli 0157:H7 was inoculated in raw minced meat and in broth. These samples were treated at pressures up to 700 MPa at WC, causing up to 5 decimal reductions. HP treatment is also effective in decreasing microbial contamination and increasing the shelf-life of raw minced meat under refrigerated conditions. The texture of raw minced meat improved with HP level, while the colour was less characteristic in HP-treated samples; a combined HP-treatment caused less colour change than an individual HP-treatment. No difference in colour of cooked minced meat was observed in untreated and HP-treated samples. The texture of cooked minced meat improved in HP-treated samples.