Home-style beef jerky: Effect of four preparation methods on consumer acceptability and pathogen inactivation

The safety of homemade jerky continues to be questioned. Producing a safe p roduct that retains acceptable quality attributes is important. Lethality o f Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes as well as consumer acceptability and sensory attributes of jerky prepared by four methods were examined. Preparation methods were drying marinated strips at 60 degreesC (representing a traditional method), boiling strips in marinade or heating in an oven to 71 degreesC prior to drying, and heating strips i n an oven after drying to 71 degreesC. A 60-member consumer panel rated ove rall acceptability. A 10-member descriptive panel evaluated quality attribu tes. Samples heated after drying and samples boiled in marinade prior to dr ying had slightly higher acceptability scores but were not statistically di fferent from traditional samples. Although the four treatments were signifi cantly different in color (P = 0.0001), saltiness (P = 0.0001), and texture (P = 0.0324), only texture appeared to influence overall consumer acceptab ility. Microbial challenge studies subjecting the pathogens to the four tre atments showed a 5.8-, 3.9-, and 4.6-log reduction of E. coli O157:H7. L. m onocytogenes, and Salmonella, respectively, even with traditional drying. O ven treatment of strips after drying was shown to have the potential to red uce pathogen populations further by approximately 2 logs. In conclusion, a safer, yet acceptable horne-dried beef jerky product can be produced by ove n-heating jerky strips after drying.