Fate of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella during Kosher Processing of Fresh Beef.

Traditional kosher meat processing involves the following steps after slaughtering: soaking with water to remove blood, salting to help draw out more blood, and rinsing to remove salt. However, the impact of the salt used on foodborne pathogens and beef quality is not well understood. The objectives of the current study were to determine the effectiveness of salt in reducing pathogens in a pure culture model, on surfaces of inoculated fresh beef during kosher processing, and the effect of salt on beef quality.

Seasonal Prevalence of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli on Pork Carcasses for Three Steps of the Harvest Process at Two Commercial Processing Plants in the United States.

Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) is a foodborne pathogen that has a significant impact on public health, with strains possessing the attachment factor intimin referred to as enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) and associated with life-threatening illnesses. Cattle and beef are considered typical sources of STEC, but their presence in pork products is a growing concern. Therefore, carcasses ( = 1,536) at two U.

Prevalence and Characterization of Present during Veal Harvest.

Beef and veal products have been vehicles implicated in the transmission of a gastroenteritis-causing bacteria. Recent regulatory samples collected from veal have indicated bob veal, or calves harvested within days of birth, have higher rates of than samples collected from formula-fed veal, or calves raised 20 weeks on milk replacer formula before harvest. To investigate this problem, we collected samples from veal calf hides, preevisceration carcasses, and final carcasses at five veal processors that harvested bob or formula-fed veal or both.

Characterization of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli on Veal Hides and Carcasses.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) are Shiga toxin-producing E. coli associated with the most severe forms of foodborne illnesses. The U.

Evaluation of Bacteriophage Application to Cattle in Lairage at Beef Processing Plants to Reduce Escherichia coli O157:H7 Prevalence on Hides and Carcasses.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a major food safety concern for the beef industry. Several studies have provided evidence that cattle hides are the main source of beef carcass contamination during processing and that reductions in the E. coli O157:H7 load on the hides of cattle entering processing facilities will lead to reductions in carcass contamination.

Contamination Revealed by Indicator Microorganism Levels during Veal Processing.

During site visits of veal processors, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has reported processing deficiencies that likely contribute to increased levels of veal contamination.

Effect of Exposure Time and Organic Matter on Efficacy of Antimicrobial Compounds against Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella.

Several antimicrobial compounds are in commercial meat processing plants for pathogen control on beef carcasses. However, the efficacy of the method used is influenced by a number of factors, such as spray pressure, temperature, type of chemical and concentration, exposure time, method of application, equipment design, and the stage in the process that the method is applied. The objective of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of time of exposure of various antimicrobial compounds against nine strains of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and four strains of Salmonella in aqueous antimicrobial solutions with and without organic matter.

Distribution of Escherichia coli passaged through processing equipment during ground beef production using inoculated trimmings.

The contamination of raw ground beef by Escherichia coli O157:H7 is not only a public health issue but also an economic concern to meat processors. When E. coli O157:H7 is detected in a ground beef sample, the product lots made immediately before and after the lot represented by the positive sample are discarded or diverted to lethality treatment.

Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in camels, cattle, goats, and sheep harvested for meat in Riyadh.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella are significant foodborne pathogens that can be found in the feces and on the hides of meat animals. When hides are removed during the harvest process, the carcass and subsequent meat products can become contaminated. Camels, cattle, sheep, and goats are harvested for meat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Effects of in-plant interventions on reduction of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and background indicator microorganisms on veal calf hides.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) serotypes in veal have recently been recognized as a problem. Because hides are considered to be the principal source of EHEC and hide interventions have been shown to be very efficacious in the control of EHEC in beef processing plants, various hide-directed intervention strategies have been implemented in several veal processing plants to mitigate contamination. We evaluated the effectiveness of three different hide interventions used at veal processing plants: A, a water rinse followed by a manual curry comb of the hide; B, application of 200 ppm of chlorine followed by a hot water rinse; and C, a 5-min treatment with chlorine foam followed by a rinse with 180 to 200 ppm of acidified sodium chlorite.

Immersion in antimicrobial solutions reduces Salmonella enterica and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli on beef cheek meat.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of immersing beef cheek meat in antimicrobial solutions on the reduction of O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), non-O157:H7 STEC, and Salmonella enterica. Beef cheek meat was inoculated with O157:H7 STEC, non-O157:H7 STEC, and S. enterica on both the adipose and muscle surfaces.

Impact of sampling area and location on measurement of indicator organisms during beef carcass interventions.

The effect of the sponge sample collection site on the recovery of multiple indicator organisms from beef carcass surfaces was evaluated to simplify and validate our previous sampling method for ease of implementation as a general protocol. Sponge samples were collected at three beef processing plants using hot water or acidic antimicrobials as interventions. Two 4,000-cm(2) samples were collected from preevisceration carcasses (n = 248), one from the inside and outside round area (top site) and one from the navel-plate-brisket-foreshank area (bottom site).

The effects of the myostatin g+6723G>A mutation on carcass and meat quality of lamb.

This study evaluated the effects of the myostatin g+6723G>A mutation on carcass and meat quality traits of lamb (AA: n=5; AG: n=8; GG: n=9). Dressing percentage was positively affected by the mutation with homozygotes for the mutation having the highest yield. Regarding carcass composition, there was a significant increase in the proportional weights of the loin and hindquarter muscles.

Isolation and characterization of Clostridium difficile associated with beef cattle and commercially produced ground beef.

The incidence of Clostridium difficile infection has recently increased in North American and European countries. This pathogen has been isolated from retail pork, turkey, and beef products and reported associated with human illness. This increase in infections has been attributed to the emergence of a toxigenic strain designated North America pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type 1 (NAP1).

Tracking the sources of salmonella in ground beef produced from nonfed cattle.

The objective of this study was to determine the source(s) of Salmonella contamination in ground beef. One hundred dairy cows were harvested in a U.S.

Predicting the presence of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in ground beef by using molecular tests for Shiga toxins, intimin, and O serogroups.

When 3,972 ground beef enrichments with 6 confirmed to contain a non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing intimin-positive Escherichia coli isolate were tested for Shiga toxin, intimin, and O group (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) genes, 183 potential positives and only 2 of the 6 confirmed positives were identified.

Efficacy of hypobromous acid as a hide-on carcass antimicrobial intervention.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on cattle hides at slaughter are the main source of beef carcass contamination by these foodborne pathogens during processing. Hypobromous acid (HOBr) has been approved for various applications in meat processing, but the efficacy of HOBr as a hide antimicrobial has not been determined. In this study, the antimicrobial properties of HOBr were determined by spraying cattle hides at either of two concentrations, 220 or 500 ppm.

Prevalence, enumeration, serotypes, and antimicrobial resistance phenotypes of salmonella enterica isolates from carcasses at two large United States pork processing plants.

The objective of this study was to characterize Salmonella enterica contamination on carcasses in two large U.S. commercial pork processing plants.

Prevalence, enumeration, and antimicrobial agent resistance of Clostridium difficile in cattle at harvest in the United States.

To assess the potential for food contamination with Clostridium difficile from food animals, we conducted a cross-sectional fecal prevalence study in 944 randomly selected cattle harvested at seven commercial meat processing plants, representing four distant regions (median distance of 1,500 km) of the United States. In all, 944 animals were sampled in the summer of 2008. C.

Tenderness of pre- and post rigor lamb longissimus muscle.

Lamb longissimus muscle (n=6) sections were cooked at different times post mortem (prerigor, at rigor, 1dayp.m., and 7 days p.

Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on cattle hides.

The objective of this study was to determine the time period that Escherichia coli O157:H7 survives on the hides of cattle. Extensive research has been conducted and is ongoing to identify and develop novel preharvest intervention strategies to reduce the presence of E. coli O157:H7 on live cattle and subsequent transfer to processed carcasses.

Prevalence and characterization of non-O157 shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates from commercial ground beef in the United States.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a Shiga toxin (stx)-producing E. coli (STEC) strain that has been classified as an adulterant in U.S.

Diversity of multidrug-resistant salmonella enterica strains associated with cattle at harvest in the United States.

The prevalence and diversity of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica strains associated with cattle at harvest in the United States were examined. Hides and carcasses of cattle were sampled at processing plants (n = 6) located in four geographically distant regions from July 2005 to April 2006. The mean prevalences of Salmonella on hides, preevisceration carcasses (immediately after hide removal), and postintervention carcasses (in the chiller and after the full complement of interventions) were 89.

Inoculation of beef with low concentrations of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and examination of factors that interfere with its detection by culture isolation and rapid methods.

Currently used industry testing programs require the ability to detect Escherichia coli O157:H7 in samples of beef trim or ground beef at levels as low as 1 CFU/375 g. We present a reliable protocol for generating a control inoculum for verification testing at this low concentration and evaluate its use. Results show that half of all samples received no cells when 1 CFU was the target concentration and that targets greater than 3 CFU were much more reliable.