Sanitation of Selected Ready-to-Eat Intermediate-Moisture Foods of Animal Origin by E-Beam Irradiation

Decontamination of Pathogenic and Spoilage Bacteria on Pork and Chicken Meat by Liquid Plasma Immersion

In this research, we aimed to reduce the bacterial loads of Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in pork and chicken meat with skin by applying cold plasma in a liquid state or liquid plasma. The results showed reductions in S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, E. coli, and C. jejuni on the surface of pork and chicken meat after 15 min of liquid plasma treatment on days 0, 3, 7, and 10. However, the efficacy of the reduction in S. aureus was lower after day 3 of the experiment. Moreover, P. aeruginosa could not be inactivated under the same experimental conditions. The microbial decontamination with liquid plasma did not significantly reduce the microbial load, except for C. jejuni, compared with water immersion. When compared with a control group, the pH value and water activity of pork and chicken samples treated with liquid plasma were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05), with a downward trend that was similar to those of the control and water groups. Moreover, the redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) values (CIELAB) of the meat decreased. Although the liquid plasma group resulted in an increase in the lightness (L*) values of the pork samples, these values did not significantly change in the chicken samples. This study demonstrated the efficacy of liquid plasma at reducing S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, E. coli, C. jejuni, and S. aureus on the surface of pork and chicken meat during three days of storage at 4–6 °C with minimal undesirable meat characteristics.

Postharvest intervention technologies for safety enhancement of meat and meat based products; a critical review

Globally, the demand for safe, healthy and nutritious meat and allied products possesses improved taste with extended shelf life is mounting. Microbial safety is among the imperative challenges that prevails in meat products because they provide an ideal medium for the growth of microorganisms particularly pathogenic bacteria. The incidence of these microbes can result quality deterioration of products leading towards food borne diseases when consumed by peoples. Several preservation technologies like chemical and biological interventions are effective to retard or inactivate the growth of micro-organisms most commonly related to food-borne diseases. Despite these, innovative approaches like hydrostatic pressure processing, active packaging, pulse electric field, hurdle approach and use of natural antimicrobials can be deployed to enhance the safety of meat and meat products. The objective of review is to describe the current approaches and developing technologies for enhancing safety of meat and allied meat products.

Effect of E-beam treatment on the chemistry and on the antioxidant activity of lycopene from dry tomato peel and tomato powder

Tomato powder (TP) and dry tomato peel (DTP) have been previously used in our laboratory as a source of lycopene to manufacture meat products ready-to-eat (RTE) submitted to E-beam irradiation with good technological and sensory results. Present work describes the studies performed in order to investigate the effect of radiation on chemical changes and antioxidant properties of lycopene. DTP and TP were irradiated (4 kGy). Changes on lycopene were analyzed by HPLC; inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS), possible modulation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) cascade, nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NP-κB) activation and expression of proteins involved in oxidation stress were analyzed in RAT-1 fibroblasts cell culture. Radiation reduced the content of all-E-lycopene and increased (Z)-lycopene, lycopene isomerization, and degradation being higher in DTP than in TP. E-Beam treatment increased the antioxidant ability of both DTP and TP in inhibiting spontaneous and H2O2-induced oxidative stress in cultured fibroblasts. Antioxidant activity was higher in DTP than in TP samples.

Irradiation and additive combinations on the pathogen reduction and quality of poultry meat

Reduction of foodborne illnesses and deaths by improving the safety of poultry products is one of the priority areas in the United States, and developing and implementing effective food processing technologies can be very effective to accomplish that goal. Irradiation is an effective processing technology for eliminating pathogens in poultry meat. Addition of antimicrobial agents during processing can be another approach to control pathogens in poultry products. However, the adoption of irradiation technology by the meat industry is limited because of quality and health concerns about irradiated meat products. Irradiation produces a characteristic aroma as well as alters meat flavor and color that significantly affect consumer acceptance. The generation of a pink color in cooked poultry and off-odor in poultry by irradiation is a critical issue because consumers associate the presence of a pink color in cooked poultry breast meat as contaminated or undercooked, and off-odor in raw meat and off-flavor in cooked meat with undesirable chemical reactions. As a result, the meat industry has difficulties in using irradiation to achieve its food safety benefits. Antimicrobials such as sodium lactate, sodium diacetate, and potassium benzoate are extensively used to extend the shelf-life and ensure the safety of meat products. However, the use of these antimicrobial agents alone cannot guarantee the safety of poultry products. It is known that some of the herbs, spices, and antimicrobials commonly used in meat processing can have synergistic effects with irradiation in controlling pathogens in meat. Also, the addition of spices or herbs in irradiated meat improves the quality of irradiated poultry by reducing lipid oxidation and production of off-odor volatiles or masking off-flavor. Therefore, combinations of irradiation with these additives can accomplish better pathogen reduction in meat products than using them alone even at lower levels of antimicrobials/herbs and irradiation doses. Effects of irradiation and additive combinations on the pathogen reduction and quality of poultry meat will be discussed in detail.

Use of e-beam for shelf-life extension and sanitizing of marinated pork loin

The effectiveness of E-beam radiation to extend the shelf-life of marinated pork loin slices stored at 4 and 8°C (temperature abuse) has been studied. The shelf-life was extended from 7 to 16 and >20 days after the application of 1 and 2 kGy, respectively. In the event of a temperature abuse occuring during the product distribution (e.g., increase to 8°C), the shelf-life would be extended from 5 to 10 and 16 days, respectively, when applying the doses mentioned previously. From a public health point of view, the irradiation of marinated pork loin may be marketable for a longer period of time of up to two weeks, and guarantees a practically Salmonella and Listeria-free product. Minor changes are produced by the E-beam treatment in the main sensory and rheological characteristics. The odor was the most affected feature, but the off-odors diminished with increased storage. In any case, testers judged the samples to be adequate for marketing.