Purpose: This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of individual treatments (slightly acidic electrolyzed water [SAcEW] and fumaric acid [FA]) and their combinations on reducing S. Typhimurium, E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and S. aureus in fresh pork, as well as to study the shelf life of pork based on microbial and sensorial quality during storage at 4 and 10°C.
Methods: Pork samples were immersed in various single treatments with or without mild heat (40°C) for 3 min. For the efficacy of combination treatments, samples were treated with the SAcEW (30 mg/l ACC) and 0.5% FA either sequentially or simultaneously, and with or without mild heat.
Results: The decontamination of fresh pork by SAcEW and 0.5% FA at 40°C for 3 min (SAcEW + 0.5% FA) significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the initial bacterial loads and retarded bacterial growth during storage at 4 and 10°C. The reductions of aforementioned pathogens (2.38 – 2.99 log CFU/g) were achieved with SAcEW + 0.5% FA and significantly different (P< 0.05) compared to those of other treatments. Based on microbiological and sensorial point of view, this combined treatment also prolonged the shelf life of pork up to 6 days when stored at 4°C, whilst 4–5 days when stored at 10°C, compared to that of control.
Significance: The combined treatment of SAcEW + 0.5% FA seems to be a very promising method to ensure microbial safety and quality of pork, which may benefit to the pork industries.