Susceptibility of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes, Inoculated onto Beef Tissues, Steaks and RTE Products, to Lactic Acid, Lactoferrin and Activated Lactoferrin

<p>Highly publicized outbreaks of food-borne illness since 1993, primarily caused by bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes, elicited intense consumer concern about meat safety. In response, regulatory authorities, researchers and the beef industry initiated efforts to implement food safety management systems that would improve microbiological quality. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) began initiating new regulatory requirements during the mid-1990s. Packers were required to knife-trim carcasses to remove all visible contaminants, comply with written sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOP), implement Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems, and meet microbiological performance criteria and standards for E. coli and Salmonella as a means to verify HACCP effectiveness and pathogen reduction.</p>
Researchers and beef packers/processors have addressed consumer food safety concerns by developing a variety of methods that are now implemented, or are being further developed, to reduce numbers of bacteria on beef and beef products and improve microbiological safety. These microbiological decontamination technologies include:
<ul><li>Animal cleaning;</li>
<li>Chemical dehairing at slaughter;</li>
<li>Spot-cleaning of carcasses by knife-trimming or steam/hot water vacuuming; and</li>
<li>Spraying/washing/rinsing of carcasses before evisceration and/or before chilling, with water, chemical solutions and/or steam or hot water.</li></ul>
<p>The most commonly used decontamination strategies involve the use of water and steam at various temperatures and spray pressures. Other decontamination strategies involve the use of FDA-approved chemicals applied through water-based sprays. The main objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of lactic acid, lactoferrin and activated lactoferrin in inhibiting growth of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes inoculated onto beef tissues, steaks and ready-to-eat (RTE) products.</p>