Survival of Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes on vacuum-packaged beef jerky and related products stored at 21 degrees C.

In the manufacture of beef jerky, a thermal lethality step is followed by drying to prevent growth of pathogenic bacterial postprocessing contaminants on the finished product. Recent guidelines from the U.S.

Lethality of commercial whole-muscle beef jerky manufacturing processes against Salmonella serovars and Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Thermal processes used in making whole-muscle beef jerky include a drying step, which may result in enhanced pathogen thermotolerance and evaporative cooling that reduce process lethality. Several salmonellosis outbreaks have been associated with beef jerky. In this study, a standardized process was used to inoculate beef strips with five-strain cocktails of either Salmonella serovars or Escherichia coli O157:H7, to marinate the strips at pH 5.

Fate of Staphylococcus aureus on vacuum-packaged ready-to-eat meat products stored at 21 degrees C.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has established standards for the composition and shelf stability of various ready-to-eat meat products.