Variations in the radiation sensitivity of foodborne pathogens associated with complex ready-to-eat food products

摘要

Foodborne illness outbreaks and product recalls are occasionally associated with ready-to-eat(RTE)sandwiches and other"heat and eat"multi-component RTE products.Ionizing radiation can inactivate foodborne pathogens on meat and poultry,fruits and vegetables,seafood,and RTE meat products.However,less data are available on the ability of low-dose ionizing radiation,doses under 5 kGy typically used for pasteurization purposes,to inactivate pathogenic bacteria on complex multi-component food products.In this study,the efficacy of ionizing radiation to inactivate Salmonella spp.,Listeria monocytogenes,Staphylococcus aureus,Escherichia coli 0157:H7,and Yersinia enterocolitica on RTE foods including a"frankfurter on a roll",a"beef cheeseburger on a bun"and a"vegetarian cheeseburger on a bun"was investigated.The average D-10 values,the radiation dose needed to inactivate 1 log_(10)of pathogen,by bacterium species,were 0.61,0.54,0.47,0.36 and 0.15 kGy for Salmonella spp.,S.aureus,L.monocytogenes,E.coli O157:H7,and Y.enterocolitica,respectively when inoculated onto the three product types.These results indicate that irradiation may be an effective means for inactivating common foodborne pathogens including Salmonella spp,S.aureus,L.monocytogenes,E.coli O157:H7 and Y.enterocolitica in complex RTE food products such as'heat and eat"sandwich products.