Microbial Counts and Thermal Resistance of Salmonella oranienburg in Ground Turkey Meat ,

Abstract

The microbial content of unfrozen and frozen ground turkey meat (GTM) in retail markets and the thermal resistance of Salmonella oranienburg in GTM was determined. The unfrozen product had an average total aerobic count of 53 × 104 cells per g. These counts reduced slightly when held in a display case for one and two days at 1–2°C. The frozen GTM contained 25% protein, 8% fat, 63% moisture and had a pH of 6.2. Microbial counts averaged 58 × 104.The time and temperatures to kill ca 104 S. oranienburg cells were determined. A thermal destruction curve can be defined as F60°C. = 3.5 min. with Z = 7.4°C.