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Minced Beef (minced + beef)
Selected AbstractsCan the high levels of human verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157 infection in rural areas of NE Scotland be explained by consumption of contaminated meat?JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007O. Solecki Abstract Aims:, To determine if contamination levels of Escherichia coli O157 and generic E. coli in retail-minced meat products are greater in rural shops compared with urban shops in Grampian, NE Scotland. We also investigated whether meat from supermarkets and meat from local butcher shops had a similar bacteriological quality. Methods and Results:, Minced beef and minced lamb were tested from November 2004 to August 2006. Escheichia coli O157 was found at low levels in four samples out of 530 tested samples (0·75%). Generic E. coli were present in 11% of the samples tested, of which 67% came from supermarkets. We observed no significant difference in the prevalence of generic E. coli between rural and urban areas. Conclusions:, Low levels of contamination with E. coli O157 and generic E. coli in retail meat suggest that meat is not a major route of infection in NE Scotland. Significance and Impact of the Study:, The study does not suggest that the high incidence of E. coli O157 human infection in the rural areas of Grampian is because of meat consumption , this provides further evidence of contact with animals or water being the routes of infection. Hence, risk mitigation should be focussed more on environmental pathways of infection. [source] STRATEGIES FOR PROLONGING THE SHELF LIFE OF MINCED BEEF PATTIESJOURNAL OF FOOD SAFETY, Issue 1 2009MATTEO ALESSANDRO DEL NOBILE ABSTRACT The study of different strategies for prolonging the shelf life of fresh minced beef patties was addressed in this work. Fresh minced beef was supplemented with thymol (THY) at levels of 250, 500 and 750 mg per kg of ground beef. Treated samples were packed using a high barrier film and stored in refrigerated conditions (4C) under ordinary atmosphere packaging and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) conditions for 16 days. The microbiological quality decay kinetic was determined by monitoring the following microorganisms: Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., lactic acid bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta, coliforms and total psychrotrophic viable count. Results show that THY, working alone, was effective on coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae, whereas it does not seem to inhibit to a great extent the growth of the other microbial populations. On the other hand, an increased amount of THY, under MAP conditions, had better effects on the product quality, with a consequent prolongation of the shelf life. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Great interest is developing in food bio-preservation, because of the ever-increasing needs to protect consumers' health and to valorize the naturalness and safety of food products. However, very few works have been carried out on the applications of bio-preservatives to extend the shelf life of fresh meat products. This study, therefore, was mainly initiated to evaluate the possibility of extending the shelf life of packed fresh meat patties by a combination of thymol (THY) to other extrinsic factors such as storage temperatures and modified atmosphere during packaging. Interesting results were obtained suggesting that THY can perform an efficient synergy with modified atmosphere conditions and could be advantageously utilized by the meat industry. [source] Pasture and Grain Finishing Affect the Color Stability of BeefJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 7 2002M.C. Lanari ABSTRACT: We determined the effect of pasture feeding (P0) or sorghum feeding with 2500 IU/head/d; (G2500) or without (G0) vitamin E supplementation on the color stability of gluteus medius (GM), longissimus lumborum (LL) and semimembranosus (SM). Diets did not affect the total pigment concentration of the muscle. Color stabilities were G2500 > P0 > G0 for fresh GM and SM and G2500 > G0 > P0 for fresh LL. Color stabilities of aged beef from the P0 and G2500 treatments were similar and higher than those from unsupplemented animals. Color stability of minced beef ranked as: P0 aged > G0 and G2500 fresh > P0 fresh > G0 and G2500 aged. [source] Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in industrial minced beefLETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2002C. Vernozy-Rozand Aims: ,The lack of baseline data on the prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in retail minced beef in France prompted this survey of industrial minced beef production. Methods and Results: ,An automated enzyme-linked fluorescence immunoassay (ELFA), the VIDAS E. coli O157 method, was used to detect E. coli O157 in industrial minced beef samples. Confirmation of samples positive according to the ELFA was performed using an automated immunoconcentration (ICE) system, VIDAS ICE, which allows the selective capture and release of target organisms. The ICE was followed by culture on cefixime tellurite sorbitol MacConkey agar and a chromogenic medium, O157:H7 ID. Of the 3450 minced beef samples tested, 175 samples were positive with the ELFA method and, of these, four were confirmed by the ICE method. They were identified as sorbitol-negative, O157-positive, H7-positive, mobile, verotoxin-producing E. coli . Conclusions: ,The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in industrial French minced beef was 0·12%, consistent with many other reports. Significance and Impact of the Study: ,The low infective dose of E. coli O157:H7 presents a major threat. The main means of combating this organism are thermal destruction and good food hygiene covering activities on-farm, in the abattoir and in minced beef industries. [source] The impact of environmental information on professional purchasers' choice of productsBUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 6 2007Gunne Grankvist Abstract Professional food purchasers are an important group of people since they influence what alternatives of a food product consumers will have the possibility to choose between. The aim of the present study was to investigate the inclination among professional purchasers to choose food products associated with more benign environmental consequences. ,,Information about product price, total use of energy, emission of greenhouse gases and use of pesticides associated with production and consumption of one kilogram of minced beef and fresh apples was varied systematically in order to study the relative influence on product preference. Product price was found to influence product preference more than any of the three environmentally related factors. Introduction of a labeling system that indicated whether the environmental impacts associated with a food product during its life cycle were ,better' or ,worse' than an average product partly increased the effect of environmental information. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] | |||||||||||||