Premium
Chitosan Protects Cooked Ground Beef and Turkey Against Clostridium perfringens Spores During Chilling
Author(s) -
Juneja Vijay K.,
Thippareddi Harshavardhan,
Bari Latiful,
Inatsu Yasuhiro,
Kawamoto Shinichi,
Friedman Mendel
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00109.x
Subject(s) - clostridium perfringens , spore , chitosan , germination , food science , spore germination , chemistry , clostridium , horticulture , biology , botany , bacteria , biochemistry , genetics
We investigated the inhibition of Clostridium perfringens spore germination and outgrowth by the biopolymer chitosan during abusive chilling of cooked ground beef (25% fat) and turkey (7% fat) obtained from a retail store. Chitosan was mixed into the thawed beef or turkey at concentrations of 0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, or 3.0% (w/w) along with a heat‐activated 3‐strain spore cocktail to obtain a final spore concentration of 2 to 3 log 10 CFU/g. Samples (5 g) of the ground beef or turkey mixtures were then vacuum‐packaged and cooked to 60 °C in 1 h in a temperature‐controlled water bath. Thereafter, the products were cooled from 54.4 to 7.2 °C in 12, 15, 18, or 21 h, resulting in 4.21, 4.51, 5.03, and 4.70 log 10 CFU/g increases, respectively, in C. perfringens populations in the ground beef control samples without chitosan. The corresponding increases for ground turkey were 5.27, 4.52, 5.11, and 5.38 log 10 CFU/g. Addition of chitosan to beef or turkey resulted in concentration‐ and time‐dependent inhibition in the C. perfringens spore germination and outgrowth. At 3%, chitosan reduced by 4 to 5 log 10 CFU/g C. perfringens spore germination and outgrowth ( P ≤ 0.05) during exponential cooling of the cooked beef or turkey in 12, 15, or 18 h. The reduction was significantly lower ( P < 0.05) at a chilling time of 21 h, about 2 log 10 CFU/g, that is, 7.56 log 10 CFU/g (unsupplemented) compared with 5.59 log 10 CFU/g (3% chitosan). The results suggest that incorporation of 3% chitosan into ground beef or turkey may reduce the potential risk of C. perfringens spore germination and outgrowth during abusive cooling from 54.4 to 7.2 °C in 12, 15, or 18 h.