Effects of hot water and lactic acid treatment of beef trimmings prior to grinding on microbial, instrumental color and sensory properties of ground beef during display

The impact of 82degreesC hot water (HW) or 5% lactic acid (LA) applied aerobically or by vacuum to beef trimmings prior to grinding on Salmonella Typhimurium (ATCC 1769NR; ST), Escherichia coli (ATCC 11775; EC), coliform (CO), aerobic plate count (APC), instrumental color and sensory characteristics of ground beef through simulated retail display was investigated. For this, beef trimmings were inoculated with a mixture (7 log CFU/ml each) of ST and EC, and treated either aerobically or under vacuum in a tumbler with HW or LA antimicrobials. Trimmings were ground, packaged and sampled on days 0, 1. 2, 3 and 7 of display for ST, EC, CO, APC, sensory and instrumental color characteristics. Vacuum HW or LA application had no additive effect (P > 0.05) when compared with aerobic application for reducing EC, ST, CO or APC. However, lactic acid was effective for reducing (P < 0.05) EC, CO and APC, but reduced ground beef redness. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.