ARS | Publication request: Inhibition of clostridium perfringens spore germination and outgrowth by buffered vinegar and lemon juice concentrate during chilling.....of ground turkey road containing minimal ingredients

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: November 24, 2009
Publication Date: March 1, 2010
Citation: Martinezl, C., Korasapatil, N.R., Burson, D.E., Thippareddi, H., Juneja, V.K., Pena-Ramos, A. 2010. Inhibition of clostridium perfringens spore germination and outgrowth by buffered vinegar and lemon juice concentrate during chilling.....of ground turkey road containing minimal ingredients. Journal of Food Protection. 73:470-476.

Interpretive Summary: One of the most common types of food poisoning in the United States is caused by the bacterium, Clostridium perfringens. Illnesses have been traditionally associated with inadequate cooling practices in retail food service operations. Thus, there was a need to determine the cooling time and temperature for cooked turkey products to remain pathogen-free and provide vital data for performing risk assessment on cooked meat. We determined that cooling times for ground beef and turkey after heat processing can be extended to 21 h by incorporation of vinegar (2.5%) or lemon juice concentrate and vinegar at 3.5% level to reduce the potential risk of C. perfringens germination and outgrowth. These findings will be of immediate use to the retail food service operations and regulatory agencies to ensure the safety of the cooked foods.

Technical Abstract: Inhibition of Clostridium perfringens spore germination and outgrowth in ground turkey roast containing minimal ingredients (salt and sugar), by buffered vinegar (MoStatin V) and a blend (buffered) of lemon juice concentrate and vinegar (MoStatin LV) was evaluated. Ground turkey roast was formulated to contain sea salt (1.5%), turbinado sugar (0.5%) and various concentrations of MoStatin V (0.75%, 1.25%, or 2.5%) or MoStatin LV (1.5%, 2.5%, or 3.5%), along with a control (without MoStatins). The product was inoculated with a three strain spore cocktail of C. perfringens to obtain initial spore levels of ca. 2.0-2.5 log CFU/g. Inoculated products were vacuum packaged, heat shocked for 20 min at 75C and cooled exponentially from 54.4 to 4.0C in 6.5, 9, 12, 15, 18 or 21 h. In control samples without MoStatin V or MoStatin LV, C. perfringens populations reached 2.98, 4.50, 5.78, 7.05, 7.88, and 8.19 log CFU/g (corresponding increases of 0.51, 2.29, 3.51, 4.79, 5.55 and 5.93 log CFU/g) in 6.5, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21 h of chilling, respectively. MoStatin V (2.5%) and MoStatin LV (3.5%) were effective in inhibiting C. perfringens spore germination and outgrowth in ground turkey roast to <1.0 log CFU/g during abusive chilling of the product within 21 h. Buffered vinegar and a blend (buffered) of lemon juice concentrate and vinegar were effective in controlling germination and outgrowth of C. perfringens spores in turkey roast containing minimal ingredients.