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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359275
Research Project: The Role of Genotype in the Development and Validation of Growth Models and Intervention Technologies for Pathogenic Non-Shiga Toxigenic Escherichia coli Found in Foods

Location: Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research

Title: Survival evaluation for salmonella spp. and listeria monocytogenes in ground chicken meat subject to high hydrostatic pressure and carvacrol using selective and nonselective media

Author
item CHUANG, SHIHYU - National Taiwan University
item Sheen, Shiowshuh - Allen
item Sommers, Christopher
item ZHOU, SIYUAN - Southwest University
item SHEEN, LEE-YAN - National Taiwan University

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/29/2019
Publication Date: 1/2/2020
Citation: Chuang, S., Sheen, S., Sommers, C.H., Zhou, S., Sheen, L. 2020. Survival evaluation for salmonella spp. and listeria monocytogenes in ground chicken meat subject to high hydrostatic pressure and carvacrol using selective and nonselective media. Journal of Food Protection. 83(1):37-44. https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-19-075.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-19-075

Interpretive Summary: Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes are foodborne pathogens responsible for many outbreaks and serious illness. High pressure processing (HPP) may inactivate or kill bacteria by crushing cell structure. Carvacrol (an essential oil) is commonly used in many foods and has shown antimicrobial function in certain food process applications. A combination of HPP and carvacrol was used to facilitate the inactivation of Salmonella or Listeria monocytogenes in ground chicken meat, and their combinations needed to kill 99.999% of both pathogens were identified. A proper microbial recovery means (e.g. aerobatic plate count medium) is required to deliver reliable inactivation results. The finding is important for HPP operation development to enhance microbial food safety concerns.

Technical Abstract: Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes are frequent contaminants in poultry meat. High Pressure Processing (HPP) is used to eliminate foodborne pathogens and extend food shelf-life. HPP in combination with the antimicrobial carvarcol at reduced pressure levels acted in synergy on the inactivation of Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes suspended in raw ground chicken meat. 300 MPa + 0.60% (w/w) carvacrol achieved a 5-log reduction in Salmonella spp., whereas 350 MPa + 0.75% carvacrol maintained the pathogen survival levels below detection limit (1.0 log CFU/g) for 7 days at 4 °C. L. monocytogenes appeared more susceptible, remaining below the detection limit for 7 days of storage at both 4 °C and 10 °C after being subject to 350 MPa + 0.45% carvacrol. In addition, HPP rendered surviving microorganisms sublethally injured. The occurrence of injury resulted in a 1.5-log difference in Salmonella counts between the selective XLT-4 agar plate and the nonselective Aerobic Plate Count (APC) Petrifilm, while pressure-injured L. monocytogenes demonstrated similar viability between the selective PALCAM agar plate and the nonselective APC Petrifilm. From the perspective of food safety risk assessment, nonselective media are considered a more conservative means to better estimate the survival population in terms of pressure-injured Salmonella cells in ground chicken meat.