Spoilage bacteria Pseudomonas are able to survive thermal processing methods commonly used in meat production and can grow in refrigerated, vacuum-sealed packaging with little to no oxygen, according to a recent study. The researchers who conducted the study stress the need to further investigate the heat resistance of foodborne bacteria to understand and mitigate product spoilage.
For the study, the researchers isolated Pseudomonas from spoiled turkey products and inoculated the bacteria in a salted and seasoned beef emulsion that was vacuum-sealed and heat-treated at temperatures mimicking thermal processes commonly used in the meat industry (54.4 °C and 71.1 °C). Samples were stored for a total of 294 days at 4 °C and 10 °C, and were plated using Pseudomonas-specific agar plates.