A. Castillo et al., CHEMICAL DEHAIRING OF BOVINE SKIN TO REDUCE PATHOGENIC BACTERIA AND BACTERIA OF FECAL ORIGIN, Journal of food protection, 61(5), 1998, pp. 623-625
A chemical dehairing process was applied to artificially contaminated
bovine hide to evaluate the effect on populations of Escherichia coli
O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium, as well as other strains of E. col
i, total coliforms, and aerobic plate counts (APC). Pieces of hide (4
cm(2)) were contaminated with bovine feces inoculated with both rifamp
icin-resistant E. coli O157:H7 and S. Typhimurium to yield a final cou
nt of each pathogen of ca. 5.0 log(10) CFU/cm(2), or with noninoculate
d feces which produced an approximate final APC of 6.0 log(10) CFU/cm(
2) and a coliform and E. coli count of 5.0 log(10) CFU/cm(2). Counts o
f pathogens, APC, coliforms, and E. coli were conducted before and aft
er applying the dehairing treatment. S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H
7 populations were significantly reduced from initial numbers (5.1 to
5.3 log(10) CFU/cm(2)) to levels below the detection limit of 0.5 log(
10) CFU/cm(2) after chemical dehairing. APC, coliforms, and E. coli co
unts were also reduced significantly after dehairing, with reductions
of 3.4 for APC, 3.9 for coliforms, and >4.3 log(10) CFU/cm(2) for othe
r E. coli strains. Since the hide is a major source of fecal contamina
tion of beef carcass surfaces, chemical dehairing may be beneficial in
reducing overall contamination of carcasses.