Beef roasts were pumped with brines containing phosphates and acetic acid, sodium lactate, potassium sorbate, or glycerol monolaurin, and cooked in-the-bag once or twice to 62.8"C. Samples were examined during storage at 2, 5, and 10°C and after mishandling at 25°C for survival of inoculated Closftidium sporogenes spores and Lisreria monocyfogenes. Clostridia and listeriae survived one cooking when surface inoculated and two cookings in roasts inoculated internally. Lactate in brine afforded protection against clostridial survival and growth in temperature-abused roasts. Clostridia grew after 24 hr at 25°C in untreated roasts cooked once, and after 48 hr of abuse in most others except those with lactate or monolaurin. Listeria survival was reduced by lactate and monolaurin in recooked surface-inoculated roasts.

Fresh rib eye steaks were examined for microbiological, lipid oxidation, pH, color and weight changes after immersion in water or in aqueous solutions of a phosphate blend and of a mixture of potassium sorbate, phosphates, sodium chloride and sodium acetate and subsequent vacuum packaging. Keeping characteristics of steaks were monitored during 12-wk storage at 2-4"C. Mesophilic, psychrotrophic, anaerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria and lactobacilli were strongly inhibited (PcO.05) in steaks treated with the composition that contained potassium sorbate, whereas growth of Enterobacreriaceae was suppressed (PcO.01). Compared with controls, compositions containing phosphates with or without potassium sorbate protected lipids, increased solution uptake and decreased purge in steaks without affecting meat color.

Fresh rib eye steaks were immersed in aqueous solutions of three binary systems consisting of oxychloro species and diluted acid activators, which, when mixed, generated a chlorous acid/chlorine dioxide system. Lipid oxidation, color, pH and weight changes as well as microbiological keeping quality of vacuum-packaged steaks were examined during 8 weeks storage at 2"-4°C. Two of the three binary systems tested reduced psychrotrophic, anaerobic and facultative anaerobic and lactic acid bacterial growth and strongly inhibited Enterobacferiaceae in the steaks but also had adverse effects on beef color and lipid oxidation.