Technical Abstract: Yersinia pestis, a psychrotrophic pathogen capable of growth at refrigeration temperatures, can cause pharyngeal and gastrointestinal plague in humans as a result of eating contaminated foods. Because Y. pestis is listed as a select agent for food safety and defense, evaluation of food safety intervention technologies to inactivate this pathogen are desired. Ionizing (gamma) radiation is a safe and effective intervention technology that can inactivate pathogens in raw and processed meats, produce, and seafood. In this study we investigated the effect of temperature on the ability of ionizing radiation to inactivate avirulant Y. pestis in beef bologna. The radiation D-10 (the radiation dose needed to inactivate 1 log of microorganism) of avirulent Y. pestis suspended in beef bologna were 0.20 (+/-0.01), 0.22 (+/-0.01), 0.25 (+/-0.02), 0.31 (+/-0.01), 0.35 (+/-0.01) and 0.37 (+/-0.01) kGy at temperatures of 5, 0, -5, -10, -15, and -20 degrees C, respectively. When incorporated into a 3D mesh, the predictive equation followed a parabolic fit (R(2)=0.84) where log10 reduction = - 0.264 - (0.039 x Temp) - (3.833 x Dose) - (0.0013 x Temp(2)) - (0.728 x Dose(2)). These results indicate that ionizing radiation would be an effective technology for control of this pathogen in ready-to-eat fine emulsion sausage products.