Efficacy of Short Thermal Treatment Time Against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on the Surface of Fresh Beef

Thermal treatment interventions consistently provide effective pathogen reductions. However, the cost of maintaining high temperature of 95 degrees C in order to raise the surface temperature of carcasses to 82 degrees C is very expensive. Therefore, beef processors need to identify thermal application times and temperatures that opti-mize the treatment effects with less maintenance cost. The objectives of this study were to determine the effi-cacy of hot water or steam at 71 degrees C for 6 s and cascade e-ion plasma treatment for 2 s in reducing pathogens on the surface of fresh beef compared to the thermal treatment at 82 degrees C for 15 s. Hot water at 71 degrees C for 6 s reduced Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella by 2.38 and 2.48 log CFU/cm2, while steam treatment at 71 degrees C for 6 s reduced E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella by 2.94 and 3.06 log CFU/cm2, respectively. Cascade e-ion plasma treatment for 2 s reduced E. coli O157:H7 on surface of fresh beef by 1.89 log CFU/cm2. The findings indicate that short treatment time with appropriate temperature could serve as an effective carcass intervention to improve the safety of fresh beef.