IMPROVING FOOD THERMAL PROCESSING: A DEATH-TIME STUDY ON PROCESSED MEAT PRODUCTS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products, consumed directly or after warming, are a source for the transmission of Listeria monocytogenes. With the growing demand and the increasing variety of RTE meat products, the food industries face serious challenges with regard to their safety. The appropriate application of heat treatments becomes an essential issue for food processors. However, quantitative data on thermal inactivation of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in different meat products cannot be extrapolated directly because of the particularities of the formulations, the variability of heat resistance among bacterial strains, and the heating procedures. Therefore, the heat resistance parameters (D and z values) of L. monocytogenes, Lactobacillus delbrueckii and accompanying microflora in meat slurry were established in order to provide more accurate F values and improve operation conditions. Results showed overprocessing. L. delbrueckii had the largest z value (9.3C) and adjusted F values of 2.4 and 3.8 min would render hot dogs and cured coarse sausages safe. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Thermal processing is still the dominant technology to assure food safety. However, consumer demands for more convenient, easy-to-prepare food with whole nutritional content drive to reevaluate and improve commercial processes. In this study, the heat resistance of target microorganisms in a meat product was calculated and modeling was used to assess and document process lethality. This study may assist the meat industry in the quantification of bacterial lethalities and the proper design of thermal processes.