High-pressure processing and boiling water treatments for reducing Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus during beef jerky processing

Beef jerky is a convenient, ready-to-eat meat product, but requires processing lethality steps to ensure the safety of the product. Previous outbreaks involving various jerky products have highlighted the risks associated with jerky and the importance of utilizing pathogen interventions during processing. In this study, two alternative interventions were evaluated for reducing pathogen populations during jerky processing. Results demonstrated that high pressure processing (HPP; two treatments of 550 MPa, 60 s) could produce significant (p < 0.05), but variable reductions (6.83 and 4.45 log10 CFU/strip) of Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7, respectively, on resulting beef jerky. HPP treatments, however, produced minor reductions (p < 0.05) of Gram-positive pathogens, resulting in reductions of 1.28 and 1.32 log10 CFU/strip of Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. Alternatively, boiling water (100 ± 2 °C) treatments (20–30 s) used after marination and prior to dehydration, reduced Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and S. aureus populations >5.0 log10 CFU/strip in resulting beef jerky. Thus, 20 or 30 s boiling water (100 ± 2 °C) treatments could be effective interventions for commercial jerky processors or home food preservers. Future validation of these processes in-plant could provide processors and regulators with alternative strategies for safe and shelf-stable jerky products.