STEAM SURFACE PASTEURIZATION OF BEEF FRANKFURTERS

Meat and poultry products are sources of foodborne bacterial contamina tion. We used flash steam heating followed by evaporative cooling to q uickly reduce bacterial contamination on the surface of beef frankfurt ers without degrading appearance. The rate of heat transfer was studie d by measuring surface temperature in a pressure chamber during steam heating. Quality changes were determined by measuring color and weight as functions of steam temperature and treatment time. Efficacy of the process was verified by microbiological experiments using L. innocua. Treatment times of 30-40 sec at 115-136 degrees C gave a 4 log reduct ion in bacterial counts on the surface without severely affecting colo r or weight. After long-term storage at 6 degrees C and at 19 degrees C, levels of bacteria on inoculated frankfurters remained reduced and there was no difference between treated and untreated products in colo r or weight.