Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in hamburgers by gamma irradiation

Abstract

Escherichia coli O157:H7 causes bloody diarrhoea, haemorrhagic colitis and life-threatening complications like haemolytic uremic syndrome and thrombotic thrombocitopenic purpura. Among foods associated with outbreaks caused by this pathogen, hamburger is the most common one. The aim of this research was to determine the radiation dose to reduce the population of E. coli O157:H7 in hamburgers to non-detectable levels in order to render a safer product. Hamburgers, inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7, were exposed to gamma radiation ( 60 Co) treatment, with doses ranging from 0 to 0.7 kGy. The average temperature during the process was 5.6ºC. Non-inoculated hamburgers were submitted to sensory evaluation after being exposed to irradiation doses of 0.8 kGy and 1.0 kGy. The D10 for the pathogen varied from 0.17 kGy to O.27 kGy in hamburger. Considering the highest D10 value in hamburger, a dose of 1.08 kGy would be sufficient to reduce E. coli O157:H7 contamination in 4 log cycles, without affecting the sensory attributes of the product.

Maintenance of Safety and Quality of Refrigerated Ready‐to‐Cook Seasoned Ground Beef Product (Meatball) by Combining Gamma Irradiation with Modified Atmosphere Packaging

“…D 10 ‐values for E. coli O157:H7 calculated in our study (Table 3) were in the range of 0.17 to 0.41 kGy as reported in literature (Lopez‐Gonzalez and others 1999; Chirinos and others 2002; Gezgin and Gunes 2007). However, D 10 ‐values for S. enteritidis and L. monocytogenes in our study (Table 3) were lower than the values (0.51 to 0.71 kGy and 0.45 to 0.50 kGy, respectively) reported in literature (Thayer and others 1995).…”

Effect of E-Beam Treatment on the Safety and Shelf Life of Mayonnaise Potato Salad

“…Its radioresistance is very low. D-values of about 0.2 kGy have been reported by several authors (Clavero et al, 1994;Buchanan et al, 1998;Chirinos et al, 2002;Cabeza et al, 2009). This D-value would yield a PrC (0.2Â2.39) of 0.48 kGy for this bacterium, which is even lower than that of Salmonella Enteritidis.…”

Consumer's evaluation of the effects of gamma irradiation and natural antioxidants on general acceptance of frozen beef burger

“…Although the scores given by the panelists to all the tested samples were low, this can be explained by the fact that they were non-trained panelists; thus the consumer's attitude towards the product was simulated, but considering that hamburgers are usually ingested with mayonnaise, tomato sauce, and/or mustard sauce, the taste could have been underestimated (Chirinos et al, 2002). In our experiment, condiments or other types of additives that could overcome the oxidative taste were not used.…”