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V. K. JUNEJA, Microbial Food Safety Research Unit, USDA-ARS-Eastern Regional Research Center, 600 E. Mermaid Ln., Wyndmoor, PA 19038-8598 The increasing numbers of illnesses associated with foodborne pathogens has renewed concerns about food safety. Accordingly, the need for better control of foodborne pathogens has been paramount in recent years. Strategies for control of foodborne pathogens include interventions applied to the carcass surface and post-slaughter interventions. Relatively new treatments for the decontamination of carcasses include use of acidified sodium chlorite, peroxyacetic acid, cetylpyridinium chloride, and activated lactoferrin. An alternative approach currently being researched is that of low dose, low penetration electron beam irradiation on chilled beef carcasses prior to fabrication. Antimicrobials applied to ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products include acetates, diacetates, lactates, glucono-delta-lactone, essential oils, nisin, acidic calcium sulfate with propionic and lactic acid, and/or combinations of these food grade chemicals. Alternatively, post-lethality treatments such as hot water, steam pasteurization, and high hydrostatic pressure are applied pre- or post-packaging of product. Biopreservatives using lactic acid bacteria and the use of bacteriophages are additional approaches to guard against pathogens on RTE products. While heat is the most common method in use today for the inactivation of microorganisms, nonthermal physical treatments, such as high hydrostatic pressure, ultrasound, pulsed electric fields, and light pulses can also be used. Both conventional and new treatments can be used in combination for controlling foodborne pathogens and enhancing the safety and shelf life of foods. However, many key issues still need to be addressed for combination preservation factors or technologies to be useful in the food industry to meet public demands for foods with enhanced safety, freshness and appeal. As a result of systematic studies in these areas together with detailed assessments of technological performance of available preservatives and preservation technologies in real food formulations, new intervention processes and products are likely to be developed. The ultimate goal is to identify potential new approaches for the safer production of foods.
Session 6, Foodborne pathogens in the food processing environment and their control
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |