Modeling pathogen growth in meat products: future challenges

Meat products are perishable foods and unless stored under proper condition s spoil quickly. In addition, if pathogens are present, meat products may b ecome hazardous for consumers. Pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Es cherichia coil O157:H7, and Salmonella spp. can grow and cause illness by t he ingestion of the bacterial cells, therefore, assurance of meat safety an d quality is of utmost importance. The emergence of low infectious dose pat hogens, i.e. those that may cause disease at 1-10 organisms ingested, prese nts a significant challenge to predictive microbiology. In order to become a better tool for the meat industry and consumers, the mathematical models that form the basis for predicting microbial growth should (1) be validated in the actual food rather than in lab media, (2) take into account the cum ulative effect of any temperature fluctuation that regularly occurs in dist ribution, and (3) keep in mind that pathogen initial count is usually unkno wn, and may be below the detection limit. This review presents some backgro und on how to address these challenges. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ail rights reserved.