Dw. Thayer et al., ELIMINATION BY GAMMA-IRRADIATION OF SALMONELLA SPP AND STRAINS OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS INOCULATED IN BISON, OSTRICH, ALLIGATOR, AND CAIMANMEAT, Journal of food protection, 60(7), 1997, pp. 756-760
There is an expanding industry for the marketing of high-value meats f
rom animals other than the typical domesticated species, including, bu
t not limited to, bison, ostrich, alligator, and caiman. In this study
we compared the gamma radiation resistance of a mixture of salmonella
e (Salmonella dublin, S. enteritidis, S. newport, S. senftenberg, and
S. typhimurium) and a mixture of Staphylococcus aureus strains (ATCC 1
3565, ATCC 25923, and B124) when present on ground bison, ostrich, all
igator, and caiman meats at 5 degrees C. A minimum of five doses were
used to establish the D values, and the studies were replicated three
times. Because the type of meat did not significantly (P < 0.05) alter
the radiation resistance of salmonellae and of S. aureus only slightl
y in the case of ostrich meat, all of the results for each organism we
re combined to obtain radiation D values of 0.53 +/- 0.02 and 0.37 +/-
0.01 kGy for Salmonella spp. and S. aureus, respectively. The authors
conclude that both of these food-borne pathogens, if present, can be
eliminated or greatly reduced in number, depending upon the level of c
ontamination, from these meats by gamma radiation doses between 1.5 an
d 3.0 kGy at 5 degrees C, the doses currently approved by the FDA and
USDA for the irradiation of poultry. The authors also conclude that si
milar, if not identical, control of food-borne pathogens should be exp
ected on edible meats in general, not just on those that are generical
ly related.