Abstract
As the global meat market moves to never frozen alternatives, meat processors seek opportunities for increasing the shelf life of fresh meats by combinations of proper cold chain management, barrier technologies, and antimicrobial interventions. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of spray and dry chilling combined with hot water carcass treatments on the levels of microbial indicator organisms during the long-term refrigerated storage of beef cuts. Samples were taken using EZ-Reach™ sponge samplers with 25 mL buffered peptone water over a 100 cm2 area of the striploin. Sample collection was conducted before the hot carcass wash, after wash, and after the 24 h carcass chilling. Chilled striploins were cut into four sections, individually vacuum packaged, and stored to be sampled at 0, 45, 70, and 135 days (n = 200) of refrigerated storage and distribution. Aerobic plate counts, enterobacteria, Escherichia coli, coliforms, and psychrotroph counts were evaluated for each sample. Not enough evidence (p > 0.05) was found indicating the hot water wash intervention reduced bacterial concentration on the carcass surface. E. coli was below detection limits (<0.25 CFU/cm2) in most of the samples taken. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was found between coliform counts throughout the sampling dates. Feed type did not seem to influence the (p > 0.25) microbial load of the treatments. Even though no immediate effect was seen when comparing spray or dry chilling of the samples at day 0, as the product aged, a significantly lower (p < 0.05) concentration of aerobic and psychrotrophic organisms in dry-chilled samples could be observed when compared to their spray-chilled counterparts. Data collected can be used to select alternative chilling systems to maximize shelf life in vacuum packaged beef kept over prolonged storage periods.
Highlights
The world beef market is heavily influenced by consumer demands and choices; the beef industry must adapt to the consumers’ needs and concerns and provide meat products that fulfill such needs
There was no significant difference (p > 0.25) on the bacterial counts observed between grain and grass-fed carcasses in the study; the main effect of the feed type was removed to better visualize differences due to the washing and chilling types’ main effects and their interaction
The concentration of Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli, and coliforms were below detection limits (
Summary
The world beef market is heavily influenced by consumer demands and choices; the beef industry must adapt to the consumers’ needs and concerns and provide meat products that fulfill such needs. An important market niche for beef products is the “fresh meat” “never frozen” alternatives This has led meat processors to seek schemes for increasing the shelf life of fresh meats by combinations of proper cold management, barrier technologies, and application of antimicrobial interventions (chemical or physical) [1,2]. The U.S Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has defined that any poultry product below −3.3 ◦ C (26 ◦ F) or red meat that has ever been frozen cannot be labeled as fresh, not frozen [4] To address these market trends, beef processors need to explore novel processing schemes, product protection options, and process modifications that have been properly validated in commercial settings to extend product shelf life, especially when long transport regimes are necessary under refrigerated conditions due to significant distances between production and market locations
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