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The Effect of Gamma Irradiation on the Microbial Quality of Meat

Introduction: Meat is a rich nutrient matrix that provides a suitable environment for proliferation of meat spoilage microorganisms and common food-borne pathogens. In this study, the effect of irradiation on the meat microbiological quality and half life of minced beef during chilled storage was investigated. Materials and Methods: Samples of minced meat (n=20) were irradiated with doses of 2, 5, 7 and 10 KGy (cobalt-60, gamma cell 220) and evaluated for their microbiological quality up to 10 days. Results: The results showed that gamma irradiation reduced the number of microorganisms in all the irradiated minced meat samples, with 2, 5, 7 and 10 KGy and the half life of samples were increased considerably (p<0.01). In addition, the results indicated that there was a significant difference in the number of coliformes between untreated and irradiated samples (p<0.05). Staphylococcus aureus could not be detected in the irradiated samples with doses of 7 and 10 KGy. Conclusion: These results indicate that irradiation might be employed as an effective mean to inactivate common food-borne pathogens namely S. aureus and increases the half life of meat.