EVALUATION OF MECHANICALLY TENDERIZED BEEF AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INDUSTRY CHANGES

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0215255
• Project No.: ALA013-1-08006
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2008
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2012

Project Director
Bratcher, CH.

Recipient Organization
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
108 M. WHITE SMITH HALL
AUBURN,AL 36849

Performing Department
Animal Sciences

Non Technical Summary
Over the past few years there have been a multitude of beef recalls associated with contamination of beef with Escherichia coli O157:H7 as well as other harmful bacteria. Due to the millions of pounds of beef that has been recalled due to the possible contamination with these harmful bacteria, government legislation is working to strengthen programs which will reduce the likelihood of contamination of meat products. While it is most certainly a need to have strict food safety measures in place to protect consumers, there is also necessity to assess the potential risks that are associated with current processing technologies to alleviate any unnecessary preventive measures. This is not only true with large corporations who are key players in the meat industry but with small processors as well. With the increasing number of regulations applying to the meat industry, there is an increasing burden to small processors. Many small processors have a lack of knowledge, decreased productivity and increased cost associated with meat production as more regulations are implemented. This all adds up to a decrease in profitability and many processors are not going to be able to overcome the financial burden and will lose the ability to sustain their business. While there has been some research on this topic, it is not all inclusive and does not provide for specific recommendations that processors should consider when making decisions for the benefit of their company. Current research also does not provide a definitive reason to consider mechanical tenderization a food safety concern as long as current regulations are being followed. This project will look at factors associated with food safety and beef production that follow along with impending legislation to strengthen the safety of our meat supply. Specifically, the project will evaluate the need for measures that could or should be implemented for testing protocol of major pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 in non-intact beef products aside from ground products. Samples will be taken of surface and of deep muscle tissue after tenderization to determine if there are transfer patterns of bacteria into the inner tissue of beef. The long-term goal of this project is to help government as well as processors evaluate what regulations are needed as well as helping to identify intervention strategies in the processing plant to assure that the best possible effort is being applied when producing the safest meat supply. The overall objectives of this project are specifically to identify the transfer pattern of Escherichia coli species, including specifically Escherichia coli O157:H7 in non-intact beef products and to develop suggested guidelines for cleaning equipment in an effective manner to provide a hurdle for transmission of pathogens. There are also potential ingredients which could be applied to the surface of meat in conjunction with mechanically tenderizing as an antimicrobial. These products could not impart a flavor difference on the meat, and need to be researched.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
501	3320	1100	11%
501	4099	1100	11%
501	5310	1100	11%
712	3320	1100	12%
712	4099	1100	11%
712	5310	1100	11%
723	3320	1100	11%
723	4099	1100	11%
723	5310	1100	11%

Knowledge Area
501 - New and Improved Food Processing Technologies; 712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins; 723 - Hazards to Human Health and Safety;

Subject Of Investigation
4099 - Microorganisms, general/other; 3320 - Meat, beef cattle; 5310 - Machinery and equipment;

Field Of Science
1100 - Bacteriology;

Keywords

beef tenderness

whole muscle non intact

wmni

beef pathogens

blade tenderization

e. coli

tenderized beef

food safety

meat safety

meat microbiology

Goals / Objectives
To determine the transmission of pathogens from the surface to deep muscle tissue in steaks after mechanical tenderization. To determine successfulness of the concept of blade tenderization methods. To development of potential ways to reduce microbial load when used in conjunction with mechanical tenderization.

Project Methods
Steaks cut to a thickness of 2.5 cm will be obtained from striploins. Surface slices will be taken randomly and from each steak to obtain a composite sample from each loin. The samples will then be plated to determine what floras are naturally present on the surface of striploins. After sampling the surface, the product will then be tenderized using the appropriate method and the deep muscle tissue sampled to identify the transmission of the natural flora from those steaks. The cores will then be sampled for the presence of the flora which were inside the deep tissue of the steak after tenderization. This procedure will also be applied to control steaks which are not tenderized. Next steaks will be inoculated with a specific organism such as E. coli K12, the non-pathogenic form of E. coli., and tenderized, followed by the tenderization of uninoculated steaks directly after the equipment has come in contact with the inoculated steak. The steaks will be placed under UV light to kill any surface bacteria that are within the natural flora of the steaks. Five of the steaks will then be inoculated with K12. The inoculated steak will be tenderized with the hand blade tenderizer followed by five additional steaks that were placed under UV light, but not inoculated. The deep muscle tissue of the inoculated steak as well as the subsequent ones would be sampled as described above to determine the presence of the specific organism. During this process, then equipment will be sampled to see if the needles retain any of the inoculant. Blades will be fully cleaned and sanitized between repetitions. The transfer of the target organism will be followed through the progression of uninoculated steaks through the blade tenderizer. If transfer of this particular organism is found, the more pathogenic strain of E. coli O157:H7 could be used as inoculants to provide a more definitive transfer pattern of specific organisms of concern to the meat industry. Another strain of E. coli which does not contain virulance factors that will be used is E. coli ECRC 97.0152. The necessity of using a tenderization method such as blade tenderization needs to be addressed. Striploins will be graded and cut in half. Eight 2.5 cm steaks will be removed from the center of striploins representing Select, Choice and Upper 2/3 Choice loins. Two steaks from each loin will be blade tenderized and two will remain intact. The steaks will be cooked according to AMSA (1995) guidelines to prepare for sensory evaluation and Warner-Bratzler shear force. For sensory panel, 2.5 cm cubes will be taken from the center of each steak to be served for sensory panel. A trained panel of at least six members will evaluate tenderness, juiciness and flavor for each sample. In addition to these components, there are antimicrobials that may reduce the presence of pathogenic bacteria on the surface of meat which will also be evaluated and tested in the same manner as above. Steaks will also have each ingredient applied on the surface and then will be cooked and presented to the trained sensory panel to determine any off-flavor imparted by each ingredient.

Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Two different protocols were conducted to test the hypothesis. Two gradute students claimed portions of this project as their thesis projects. Data was presented at regional and national meetings in the form of poster presentations, oral presentations and conference proceedings. A video explaing the myths of tenderized meat was prepared in conjunction with American Meat Institute and American Meat Science Association featuring the PI.www.meatmythcrushers.com PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
A change in knowledge was generated as no known information had been previously collected on this subject to the extent of tracing the ability of translocation of bacteria from the surface through the tenderization process. We are now aware that a potential ocurs for bacteria to be translocated from one contaminated surface to the interior of another meat subprimal following initial contaminarion. USDA is currently preparing a risk assessment on the subject matter.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This year, an addition to the project was made. We investigated an intervention technique at the carcass level. We have made strides in indentifying antimicrobial agents, through collaborations in industry, to be applied to subpirmals prior to tenderization for testing during the upcomming year. PARTICIPANTS: PI has added a Ph.D. student to the investigation team who will make this her dissertation investigation. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: This comming year, additions will be made to the project to investigate antimicrobials that may eliminate surface bacteria before mechanical tenderization. Two companies have already pledged their product for investigation and have agreed to supply their product as needed.

Impacts
Under current Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations, critical control points (CCP's) are in place during harvesting of animals to limit growth of bacteria and carcass contamination. For small processors, CCP's need to be low cost, easy to implement, and monitor. The purpose of this study was to investigate if singeing beef carcasses, similar to what is performed for hog carcasses, would reduce bacterial load. Scalding and singeing of hogs is done to eliminate any hair on the carcass; however, it also can reduce bacterial load. Beef carcasses (n=36) were split, the right side was singed with a flame for 15 seconds. The left side served as a control. Samples were taken before and after singeing to determine bacterial load pre- and post-intervention. There was a 1.04 log10 CFU/cm2 from singeing the carcass. This research provides investigation on a simple and inexpensive intervention for bacterial lethality that could be useful small processors. With these results, we will investigate futher interventions at both the carcass and the subprimal level to eliminate bacteria on the surface before mechanical tenderization takes place.

Publications

• D. F. Johns, C. L. Bratcher, C. R. Kerth and T. A. McCaskey. 2011. Translocation of surface-inoculated Escherichia coli into whole muscle non-intact beef striploins following blade tenderization. Journal of Food Protection. 74(8): 1334-1337.

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The translocation of E. coli from innoculated striploins to clean striploins utilizing a blade tenderizer was inevsitaged. The procedure was duplicated and data analyzed for publication. PARTICIPANTS: One student completed a M.S. thesis and gained employment as a supervisor in a well known meat processing facility. The PI will continue to investigate reserach methods in this area of specialzation. TARGET AUDIENCES: Data suggest that a change in action is not necessary as the numbers of E. coli organisms were not significant when relating to the initial load on the surface of the subprimals. IT may be necessary to implement the use of antimicrobials is a suitable one could be found without affecting meat quality. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
A change in knowledge was an outcome from data gathered. Beef striploins (n=2) were inoculated on the lean side with 6.4 to 7.2 mL of a nalidixic acid resistant Escherichia coli at a concentration ranging from 8.2 to 10.1 log CFU/mL. Total CFU inoculated on striploins ranged from 1.12 X 109 to 9.10 X 1010. Striploins were passed once, lean side up, anterior end first, though a mechanical blade tenderizer. Subsequent uninoculated beef striploins (n = 5) were passed once, lean side up, anterior end first, through the same mechanical tenderizer following the inoculated striploins. This procedure was repeated twice for a total of 12 different striploins. Six core samples were taken from each striploin starting with the anterior end. Each core was cut into six sections. Sections 1 through 4 represented the top 4 cm and sections 5 and 6 represent the remaining portion split in half. Following tenderization, E. coli levels were greatest (P < 0.05) in loin 1. Loin 2 had greater (P < 0.05) levels than loins 4, 5, and 6. There were no differences (P > 0.05) between loins 3, 4, 5, and 6 which were below detectable limits. Levels of E. coli from sections 1 were greater than all other sections. Sections 2 had greater (P < 0.05) levels than 3, 4, 5, and 6. E. coli recovery from sections 6 were greater (P < 0.05) than 3, 4, and 5. There were no differences (P > 0.05) between sections 3, 4, and 5. Data indicate that even with high initial inoculum numbers, contamination from one loin to another is quickly reduced to <10 E. coli/g . Further investigation of antimicrobials may create the need for a change in actions of the way in which subprimals are tenderized.

Publications

• Johns, D. F. Translocation of E. coil in Whole Muscle Non-Intact Beef. A thesis presented to the Auburn University Graduate School. August 9, 2010.

Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Two seperate projects are in the stages of completion with this Hatch project. Two M.S. students will complete their thesis in May 2010 with data they have generated. Some forage-fed roasts have been produced with ingredients to have an "all natural" product and we are undergoing sensory evaluation of those products at this time. An antibiotic resistant strain of E. coli has also been produced to use in the investigation of translocation of bacteria during a needle tenderization treatment for the second project. We are currently running trial 3 of a 5 part trial for this portion of the project. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
It appears that there are concerns of bacterial translocation with needle tenderized meat. It is at this point, not clear to what extent and what reccomendations should be made to industry. Bacterial counts need to be determined for the forage-fed roasts to see if needle injection plays the same role as a tenderizer and also to see if any of the natural ingredients will function as an antimicrobial.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Due to a delay in laboratory renovations, this work has just begun in January 2009. The labratory was under rennovation from August 2008 until December 2008. The necessary equipment to implement this project and maintain a microbiological laboratory have been purchased, placed into the laboratory and approval to begin microbiological work has been given by the proper risk safety and management authorities at Auburn University. The first objective of this project is to determine the transmission of pathogens from the surface to deep muscle tissue in steaks after mechanical tenderization. The current state of the project is determining the transmission of the normal flora of microorganisms to the inner tissue of steaks using a hand held blade tenderizer that is available in retail markets. After obtaining results by utilizing a hand held tenderizer, work will move to a commercial sized blade tenderizer for determining the applicability to commercial operations. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The results from the preliminary project utilizing the hand held blade tenderizer will create awareness for scientists and consumers on the risks associated with blade tenderizing meat at the consumer in home level. By taking the project one step further and applying it to a commercial sized blade tenderizer, that same awareness will be evident and will provide information needed to create change in consumer and industry actions if necessary.

Publications

• No publications reported this period