A modified cefsulodin-irgasan-novobiocin (CIN) medium was developed for the recovery of Arcobacter spp. from meats. Modified CIN was compared to brain heart infusion agar supplemented with 10% bovine blood and cephalothin, vancomycin, and amphotericin B (CVA) as well as brain heart infusion agar supplemented with 10% bovine blood and no antibiotics. The three media were used to recover Arcobacter spp. in a survey of pork-processing plants. Examination of ground pork (149 samples) from one Iowa slaughter facility (Plant #1) revealed that 89 percent of the samples were positive for Arcobacter spp. In a second survey conducted 9 months later involving that same plant and four others, only 5% of the samples from the four plants were found to be positive for Arcobacter spp. Again, 90% of the samples were positive from Plant #1. It was not determined whether the sanitary practices during slaughter or the rearing of pigs on the source farms contributed to the prevalence of Arcobacter spp. in one plant versus another.

The ability of Arcobacter butzleri to survive irradiation under vacuum in ground pork was determined and compared with that of Campylobacter jejuni. The D10 value for A. butzleri (0.27 kGy) was 1.4 × higher than that of C. jejuni (0.19 kGy). In addition, the D10 values for both organisms showed that an irradiation treatment of 1.5 kGy would yield a 5-log-unit reduction in the number of A. butzleri cells and a 7-log-unit reduction in the number of C. jejuni cells. This is sufficient to render meat products safe from these pathogens. These data indicate that A. butzleri is more tolerant to irradiation than C. jejuni.