Synergetic effect of combined fumaric acid and slightly acidic electrolysed water on the inactivation of food-borne pathogens and extending the shelf life of fresh beef

Aims: To evaluate synergetic effect of slight acidic electrolysed water (SAEW)and fumaric acid (FA) on inactivation of total viable count (TVC) andStaphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7 andSalmonella Typhimurium in fresh beef and to study shelf life and sensoryquality of beef.Methods and Results: Inoculated samples was dipped for 1, 3 and 5 min andimmersed at 25, 40 and 60°C in SAEW, strong acidic electrolysed water(StAEW) and SAWE + FA. Treated meat was air-packaged and stored at 4 or10°C. During storage, sampling was performed at 2-day intervals formicrobiological and sensory changes. TVC was decontaminated at 40°C for3 min by more than 3 70 log CFU g 1 , and examined pathogens were reducedby more than 2 60 log CFU g 1 with SAEW + FA treatment. This treatmentprolonged shelf life of beef meat up to 9 and 7 days when stored at 4 and10°C, respectively.Conclusion: The combined treatment of SAEW + FA showed greaterbactericidal effect and prolonged shelf life compared with individualtreatments.Significance and impact of the study: Combined treatment of SAEW and FAcan be a suitable hurdle technology reducing bacteria in fresh beef,substantially enhancing their microbial safety and decreasing pathogens growthduring storage.IntroductionDuring slaughtering and processing of all edible carcasstissues, the meat is subjected to internal and externalcontaminations from a variety of sources. Microbialgrowth is generally confined to the outer surfaces wherebacteria irreversibly bind to. Meats contaminated withListeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichiacoli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. have been reported asthe causal agents of food-borne diseases (Koohmaraieet al. 2005; Jofre et al. 2008; Perez-Rodriguez et al. 2010).The micro-organisms reach the carcass surface where theypenetrate into deeper layers of the meat. By reducing thisprimal surface contamination and avoiding or limitingthe microbial growth, we can considerably reduce theburden of food-borne diseases and extend shelf life offresh meat (Pipek et al. 2005).Although food-borne pathogens are subjected to physi-cal, chemical and nutritional stress during processing andthe improvements are made in hygienic slaughter pro-cessing, they still persist at high level in raw meat (Abbas-si-Ghozzi et al. 2012; Osaili et al. 2013), rendering theirelimination/inhibition a challenge to processors (Pathaniaet al. 2010). Significant advances have been made indeveloping thermal and nonthermal intervention technol-ogies to reduce food-borne pathogens in meat and meatproduct during the slaughtering process. Innovative tech-nologies are needed that use little heat to preserve the