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Survival of Campylobacter jejuni on beef trimmings during freezing and frozen storage
Author(s) -
Moorhead S.M.,
Dykes G.A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1046/j.1472-765x.2002.01043.x
Subject(s) - campylobacter jejuni , campylobacter , human decontamination , biology , food science , inoculation , microbiology and biotechnology , contamination , food microbiology , bacteria , medicine , immunology , ecology , genetics , pathology
Aims: To investigate the survival of two animal isolates of Campylobacter jejuni on beef trimmings during freezing and frozen storage. Methods and Results: Meat packs inoculated with 10 3 or 10 6 cfu g −1 of either strain of C. jejuni were frozen to −18°C, and sampled at regular intervals over 112 d storage to determine Campylobacter numbers and sublethal injury. For both strains and inoculation levels the numbers of Campylobacter decreased in the first 7 d of storage by ca. 0·6–2·2 log cfu g −1 and then remaining constant over the remainder of the storage trial, with neither isolate exhibiting sublethal injury. Conclusions: Despite an initially significant decrease in number, these pathogens were able to survive standard freezing conditions in meat, but did not exhibit sublethal injury. Significance and Impact of the Study: Strict hygiene and/or the implementation of decontamination technologies are recommended as a means to assure the safety of meat with respect to this pathogen.