Evaluation of a Phosphate To Control Pathogen Growth in Fresh and Processed Meat Products.

The efficacy of a phosphate blend, Bekaplus MSP, to inhibit the growth of foodborne pathogens in fresh or processed meat products was studied. The following products and challenge microorganisms were tested: ground beef, Escherichia coli O157:H7; linked smoked sausage, Salmonella typhimurium and L. monocytogenes ; cured smoked ham, S. typhimurium and L. monocytogenes ; and fresh pork sausage, E. coli O157:H7. All the products were prepared with or without 0.5% phosphate, individually inoculated with the challenge microorganism (10CFU/g of meat), and stored at either 4, 12, or 20°C. There was minimal or no effect of the phosphate blend on the growth of L. monocytogenes or S. typhimurium . The temperature of storage had a significant effect ( < 0.05) on the population of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef and fresh pork sausage with phosphate. However, the presence of phosphate in the ground beef had no effect ( > 0.05) on E. coli O157:H7, but the presence of phosphate in the fresh pork sausage had a significant effect ( < 0.05) on controlling E. coli O157:H7. These results indicate that this phosphate blend could be used in fresh pork sausage to help inhibit the growth of E. coli O157:H7.