Safety and consumer acceptance of whole muscle beef jerky made with home-style dehydrators.

摘要

Association of home made jerky products, with foodborne disease has raised questions about their safety. Our objectives were to determine (1) consumer acceptance of beef jerky made with antimicrobial ingredients, and (2) destruction of non-pathogenic Escherichia coli in beef jerky processed in home-style dehydrators. Four recipes were developed using ingredients with known antimicrobial properties. Recipes consisted of the following as percent of the meat block: 2% salt, 1.25% sugar, 0.4% ground black pepper, 0.33% garlic powder (S); 2.91% Morton's Tender QuickRTM, 0.77% sugar, 0.4% ground black pepper, 0.33% garlic powder (CS); S with 17% red wine vinegar (SV); and CS with 17% red wine vinegar (CSV). Chemical and physical analyses, as well as a consumer acceptance evaluations, were performed on jerky produced from the four recipes. Time/temperature performance of four dehydrator models readily available to consumers was recorded while drying full loads of beef jerky. Two recipes (CS & CSV), based on consumer evaluation results, and two dehydrators, based on time/temperature performance, were selected to test beef jerky inoculated with Escherichia coli NCSM. Inoculated (6.3 to7.4 log cfu) and non-inoculated control meat strips were surface plated on plate count agar containing 1% glucose (PCA) and violet red bile agar (VRBA) at selected stages of jerky production. Bacterial populations of inoculated CS strips were reduced (P < 0.01) by 0.7 log on VRBA after refrigeration (∼8°C, 14 h). Addition of vinegar (CSV) caused a greater reduction (1.7 log, P < 0.01) on VRBA after refrigeration. Post drying, inoculated CS bacterial populations were reduced by 4.9 log ( P < 0.01) and 5.3 log (P < 0.01) on PCA and VRBA, respectively. Using CSV, each dehydrator achieved greater than 6.0 log reduction of E. coli NCSM in the final product ( P < 0.01). CSV and overnight refrigeration can effectively control E. coli NCSM in beef jerky dried in home-style dehydrators that reach 66°C during drying.