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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #239171

Title: Control of Listeria monocytogenes on commercial frankfurters prepared with and without potassium lactate and sodium diacetate and surface treated with lauric arginate....(SLIC®) delivery method

Author
item CAMPANO, S. - Trumark
item Porto-Fett, Anna
item SMITH, JEAN - Oser Technologies
item OSER, ALAN - Oser Technologies
item Shoyer, Brad
item Call, Jeffrey
item Luchansky, John

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/21/2009
Publication Date: 6/24/2009
Citation: Campano,S., Port-Fett,A,Smith,J.,Oser,A.,Shoyer,B.,Call,J.,Luchansky,J. 2009. Control of Listeria monocytogenes on commercial frankfurters prepared with and without potassium lactate and sodium diacetate and surface treated with lauric arginate...(SLIC) delivery method [abstract].Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) Annual Meeting. Rogers, Arkansas. p.1.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The viability of Listeria monocytogenes was monitored on commercially-produced frankfurters that were formulated with no, low, or high levels of potassium lactate and sodium diacetate (UltraLac KL6810; low = 0.68% lactate and 0.097% diacetate and high = 1.36% lactate and 0.19% diacetate), and then treated with 22 or 44 ppm of a solution of lauric arginate (LAE; Ethyl-N-dodecanoyl-L-arginate hydrochloride; CytoGuard LA). Frankfurters were removed aseptically from the original package, re-packaged (8 links per bag; 454 grams) into nylon-polyethylene bags, and then surface inoculated with 2 ml of a five-strain mixture of L. monocytogenes to achieve a target level of ca. 3.4 log CFU/package. Each package was then massaged by hand for ca. 20 seconds to distribute the inoculum, and then 4 ml of LAE was delivered into each package using the Sprayed Lethality in Container (SLIC®) delivery method. Control packages were treated with 4 ml of 0.1% peptone water. The packages were vacuum-sealed and stored at 4oC for up to 120 days. The pathogen was recovered from frankfurters using the USDA/ARS package rinse method. For each of two trials, three packages were sampled at each sampling interval. In the absence of any antimicrobials, pathogen numbers remained relatively constant for about 30 days, but then increased to ca. 8.4 log CFU/package over 120 days. Regardless of whether or not lactate and diacetate were included in the formulation, when treated with 22 or 44 ppm of LAE, numbers decreased from ca. 3.4 log CFU/package to ca. 1.5 log CFU/package within 2 h. However, after 30 days, for frankfurters that did not contain added lactate and diacetate, but that were subsequently treated with 22 or 44 ppm of LAE, pathogen numbers increased to 7.3 and 6.7 log CFU/package, respectively, after 120 days. Of note, when frankfurters were formulated with either low or high levels of lactate and diacetate and surface treated via SLIC® with 22 or 44 ppm of LAE, pathogen numbers decreased by ca. 2.0 log CFU/package within 2 h and remained relatively unchanged over the 120 days of refrigerated shelf life. The use of lactate and diacetate alone prevented the pathogen from growing during shelf life, but did not generate an initial lethality. These data confirm that LAE provides an initial lethality, and that in combination with lactate and diacetate as an ingredient to the batter, will inhibit the growth of the pathogen throughout shelf life. As such, manufacturers may consider this strategy to achieve alternative 1 status for ensuring the safety of RTE meat and poultry products relative to a post-process intervention for L. monocytogenes