Descriptive analysis of the most common types of food safety infractions at ready-to-eat meat processing plants in Ontario, Canada.

Food safety inspections of meat processing plants and abattoirs that process ready-to-eat (RTE) meats have identified a lack of compliance with good manufacturing practices. This study was undertaken to identify common food safety infractions in the RTE meat processing sector in Ontario through an analysis of historical audit records. A total of 376,457 audit item results were evaluated across 912 unique audits of 204 different RTE meat plants. A nearly two-thirds overall item pass rate (64.4%; n = 242,478) was identified. Across all other risk categories, the highest rates of infractions were observed in the "maintenance of premises, equipment and utensils" (56.7%; n = 750). The overall item pass rate was higher in free-standing meat processing plants than abattoirs, while pass rates gradually decreased across the study period. The results of this study have identified key areas for improvement in future inspection, audit and outreach with RTE meat processing plants.

Ready-to-eat Meat Plant Characteristics Associated with Food Safety Deficiencies During Regulatory Compliance Audits, Ontario, Canada.

Food safety deficiencies in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat processing plants can increase foodborne disease risks. The purpose of this study was to identify common deficiencies and factors related to improved food safety performance in RTE meat plants in Ontario. Routine food safety audit records for licensed provincial free-standing meat processing plants (FSMPs) and abattoirs that process RTE meats were obtained and analyzed in Ontario, Canada, from 2015 to 2019. A Bayesian regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between selected plant characteristics and two outcomes: overall audit rating (pass vs. conditional pass or fail) and individual audit item fail rate. The audit rating was examined in a logistic model, while the audit item fail rate was evaluated in a negative binomial model. The majority (87.7%, n = 800/912) of audits resulted in a pass rating (compared to conditional pass or fail). The mean number of employees per plant, among 200/204 plants with employee data available, was 11.6 (SD = 20.6, range = 1-200). For the logistic regression model, FSMPs were predicted to have a much higher probability of passing audits than abattoirs (32.0% on average, with a 95% credible interval [CI] of 13.8-52.8%). The number of plant employees, water source (municipal vs. private), and types of RTE meat products produced had little to no consistent association with this outcome. The negative binomial model predicted a -0.009 points lower fail rate, on average, for audit items among FSMPs than abattoirs (95% CI: -0.001, -0.018). Meat plants producing jerky had a higher audit item fail rate compared to those that did not produce such products. The other investigated variables had little to no association with this outcome. The results found in this study can support and guide future inspection, audit and outreach efforts to reduce foodborne illness risks associated with RTE meats.

Εvaluation of the microbial stability and shelf life of 50% NaCl-reduced traditional Greek pork meat product "Syglino of Monemvasia" stored under vacuum at different temperatures.

Nowadays, consumers are increasingly concerned about nutrition and health issues. "Syglino of Monemvasia" is a traditional Greek cooked and smoked, sliced pork meat product. Although this is a nutritious food, its consumption should be done in moderation due to the pickling process of its preparation. This product was thus here optimized to contain half salt (NaCl) amount and its microbial stability and shelf life was then assessed in comparison to the already available commercial product. For this, the total viable counts (TVCs) and some critical specific spoilage associations were enumerated at each product type during vacuum incubation at four different temperatures (0, 5, 10, and 15 °C). The alterations in pH, aw, color, and some other crucial sensory attributes of each product were also periodically monitored. The new low-salt product was found to remain microbiologically stable under refrigerated vacuum storage for approximately two weeks, being finally spoiled by Brochothrix thermosphacta grown above 107 CFU/g, ultimately resulting in the deterioration of taste, odor, and overall appearance of the product, and thus leading to its subsequent organoleptic rejection. Despite its limited shelf life, the 50% NaCl-reduced "Syglino" could be released in the local market provided that the cooling chain is maintained throughout its distribution (≤5 °C) and at the same time consumers are willing to accept its milder taste. Although salt replacers could have been used to improve its flavor and at the same time increase its shelf life, the product here developed without the use of such alternatives will hopefully contribute to the taste training of its consumers for less salt in their diet, keeping in parallel its clean label with no added preservatives and other food additives.

Not All Street Food Is Bad: Low Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella enterica in Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Meats in Ghana Is Associated with Good Vendors' Knowledge of Meat Safety.

Foodborne infections due to the consumption of meat is a significant threat to public health. However, good vendor and consumer knowledge of meat safety could prevent meat contamination with and transmission of foodborne pathogens like Salmonella. Thus, this study investigated the vendor and consumer perception, knowledge, and practices of meat safety regarding ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and how this affected the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of Salmonella enterica in RTE meats in the streets of Ghana. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain the demographics, knowledge, and practices of meat safety data from RTE meat vendors (n = 300) and consumers (n = 382). Salmonella enterica detection was done according to the United State of America (USA)-Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Bacteriological Analytical Manual. The disk diffusion method was used for antibiotic resistance testing. The results revealed that most of the respondents had heard of meat safety (98.3% vendors, 91.8% consumers) and knew that meat could be contaminated by poor handling (100.0% vendors, 88.9% consumers). The respondents knew that regular hand washing reduced the risk of meat contamination (100.0% vendors, 94.0% consumers). Responses to the practices of meat safety by vendors were generally better. A very low Salmonella enterica prevalence was observed in the samples, ranging between 0.0 and 4.0% for guinea fowl and beef, respectively. However, the six isolates obtained were resistant to five of the nine antibiotics tested, with all isolates displaying different resistance profiles. Overall, the good knowledge and practice of meat safety demonstrated by the respondents corroborated the negligible prevalence of Salmonella in this study, reiterating the importance of vendor meat safety knowledge. However, the presence of resistant Salmonella enterica in some of the meat samples, albeit in a very low prevalence, warrants stricter sanitary measures and greater meat safety awareness in the general population to prevent meat-borne infections and potential transmission of drug-resistant bacteria to humans.

Escherichia coli of Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Meats Origin Showed Resistance to Antibiotics Used by Farmers.

Bacterial foodborne infections, including meat-derived infections, are globally associated with diseases and some deaths. Antibiotics are sometimes used to treat bacterial infections. The use of antibiotics by farmers contributes to the development of resistance by foodborne pathogens. This study aimed to investigate the antibiotics used by farmers and the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat sources. Data was obtained from livestock farmers through the administration of semistructured questionnaires (n = 376) to obtain information on their demographics, knowledge and antibiotic usage. The procedure in the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Bacteriological Analytical Manual was used for E. coli detection. Antibiotic resistance test was performed using the disk diffusion method. The findings revealed that most of the farmers were male (74.5%), were aged 30-39 years (28.5%), had tertiary education (30.3%) and had 6-10 years of experience in livestock husbandry. Sheep (65.7%) were the most reared livestock, and antibiotics were mostly used to treat sick animals (36.7%). Tetracycline (27.7%) was the most common antibiotic used by farmers, followed by amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (18.6%) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (11.7%). Most farmers (56.1%) said they had knowledge of antibiotic usage. The prevalence of E. coli in RTE meats was lowest in pork (6.0%) and highest in chevon (20.0%). E. coli isolates from RTE meats were highly resistant to teicoplanin (96.77%), tetracycline (93.55%), amoxicillin/clavulanic (70.97%), azithromycin (70.97%) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (58.06%) but was susceptible to chloramphenicol (93.55%), ciprofloxacin (61.29%) and ceftriaxone (58.06%). The multiple antibiotic index ranged from 0.22 to 0.78. Multidrug resistance (93.55%) was high among the E. coli isolates. The resistance pattern AmcAzmTecTeSxt (amoxicillin/clavulanic acid-azithromycin-telcoplanin-tetracycline-trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole) was the most common. The use of antibiotics by farmers must be well regulated. Sellers of RTE meats also ought to take hygiene practices seriously to keep meat safe and healthy for public consumption.

Thermal Inactivation of Salmonella in Pâté Made from Chicken Liver.

HIGHLIGHTS: Cooking may reduce the potential risk of salmonellosis associated with liver pâté. A 5-log reduction was achieved when inoculated pâté was cooked to an internal temperature of ≥73.8°C. A 5-log reduction was achieved when pâté was made with inoculated liver fried for >8 min at 140°C. Findings of this study may be useful for establishing cooking guidelines for liver and pâté.

Prevalence, toxigenic potential and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Staphylococcus isolated from ready-to-eat meats.

AIM: An epidemiological surveillance for Staphylococci contamination of ready-to-eat (RTE) meats from Enugu State, Nigeria, was carried out to determine the prevalence, species distribution, toxigenic potential and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the organisms and hence the microbiological and toxicological safety of the meats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Isolation and phenotypic Staphylococcus detection were done according to standard microbiological methods. Phenotypic resistance to 17 commonly used antimicrobial agents was determined by disc diffusion method. Molecular characterization of the isolates to species level and detection of selected toxigenic and antimicrobial-resistance genes were done by PCR methods. RESULTS: Twenty-four (9.4%) of the 255 meat samples investigated were contaminated with Staphylococcus species. Twenty-four Staphylococcus isolates belonging to six species of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) were identified. Four (16.7%) isolates harbored genes coding for exfoliative toxin-A. Ten (41.7%) isolates were multidrug resistant, while mecA, tetK, mphC, ermT and ermC were the antimicrobial-resistance genes detected in the isolates. Meat samples sourced from motor parks (16.7%) and open markets (8.5%) were the most contaminated. CONCLUSION: 9.4% of RTE meats sampled were contaminated with toxigenic and multidrug resistance CoNS. Beef was the most contaminated RTE meat type and harbored all the toxigenic and most of the antibiotic-resistant genes detected. Meat samples from motor parks had the highest staphylococcal contamination (16.7%), while those from mechanic village had the least (2.4%). Majority (79.2%) of the isolates were not susceptible to fusidic acid but none exhibited antimicrobial-resistance to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, linezolid or teicoplanin. Food safety authorities in the study area should work proactively to massively improve the hygienic practices of meat vendors; in order to limit staphylococcal contamination of RTE meats and the associated public health problems.

Behavior of Listeria monocytogenes on Mortadella Formulated Using a Natural, Clean-Label Antimicrobial Agent during Extended Storage at 4 or 12°C.

All-pork mortadella, an Italian-style deli meat, was produced by a local artisanal meat producer with or without 1.0 or 1.5% liquid buffered vinegar (LBV), 0.4, 0.6, or 1.0% dry buffered vinegar (DBV), or a 2.5% blend of potassium lactate and sodium diacetate (KLac). In each of three trials, mortadella was sliced (ca. 1.5 cm thick, ca. 30 g) and surface inoculated with 250 µL per side of a five-strain mixture of Listeria monocytogenes (ca. 3.8 log CFU per slice). The packages were vacuum sealed and then stored at 4 or 12°C. In the absence of antimicrobials, L. monocytogenes levels increased by ca. 2.6 and 6.0 log CFU per slice after up to 120 or 28 days at 4 or 12°C, respectively. With inclusion of 1.0 or 1.5% LBV, 1.0% DBV, or 2.5% KLac as ingredients, pathogen levels decreased by ca. 0.3 to 0.7 log CFU per slice after 120 days at 4°C, whereas with inclusion of 0.4 or 0.6% DBV, L. monocytogenes levels increased by ca. 1.2 and 0.8 log CFU per slice, respectively. After 28 days at 12°C, inclusion of 2.5% KLac, 1.0 or 1.5% LBV, or 0.4 or 0.6% DBV resulted in a ca. 1.4- to 5.7-log increase in L. monocytogenes levels. When 1.0% DBV was included in the formulation, pathogen levels remained unchanged after 28 days at 12°C. However, product quality was lessened at this abusive storage temperature (12°C) for all treatments by the end of storage. Thus, inclusion of LBV or DBV, as clean-label ingredients, in mortadella is equally effective as KLac for controlling L. monocytogenes during storage at 4°C without adversely affecting product quality.

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes on Ready-to-Eat Meats Using Bacteriocin Mixtures Based on Mode-of-Action.

Bacteriocin-producing (Bac⁺) lactic acid bacteria (LAB) comprising selected strains of Lactobacillus curvatus, Lactococcus lactis, Pediococcus acidilactici, and Enterococcus faecium and thailandicus were examined for inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes during hotdog challenge studies. The Bac⁺ strains, or their cell-free supernatants (CFS), were grouped according to mode-of-action (MOA) as determined from prior studies. Making a mixture of as many MOAs as possible is a practical way to obtain a potent natural antimicrobial mixture to address L. monocytogenes contamination of RTE meat products (i.e., hotdogs). The heat resistance of the bacteriocins allowed the use of pasteurization to eliminate residual producer cells for use as post-process surface application or their inclusion into hotdog meat emulsion during cooking. The use of Bac⁺ LAB comprising 3× MOAs directly as co-inoculants on hotdogs was not effective at inhibiting L. monocytogenes. However, the use of multiple MOA Bac⁺ CFS mixtures in a variety of trials demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach by showing a >2-log decrease of L. monocytogenes in treatment samples and 6-7 log difference vs. CONTROLS: These data suggest that surface application of multiple mode-of-action bacteriocin mixtures can provide for an Alternative 2, and possibly Alternative 1, process category as specified by USDA-FSIS for control of L. monocytogenes on RTE meat products.