Purpose: The purpose of the study was to record the effect of different domestic refrigeration temperatures and thawing methods on the presence and numbers of Salmonella spp. in poultry-based meat preparations.
Methods: Burgers, sausages and ready-to-cook kebabs were submitted to: i) storage at three refrigerator temperatures (4°C, 8 or 12°C), with or without prior temperature abuse (25°C for 2 hours simulating shop to home transport) and ii) thawing according to two methods (overnight in refrigerator at 8°C versus on the kitchen countertop at 23°C). Storage tests were carried out on naturally or artificially (Salmonella Typhimurium at ca. 10 CFU/g) contaminated products while freezing/thawing tests were conducted only on artificially contaminated products (Salmonella Typhimurium at ca. 10, 100 and 1000 CFU/g).
Results: Artificially contaminated products showed substantial growth of Salmonella Typhimurium at 12°C (from ca. 8 MPN/g to > 710 MPN/g) in kebabs after 7 and 10 days but more moderate growth in sausages (from ca. 14 MPN/g to a maximum of 96 MPN/g after 9 days). Storage of naturally contaminated burgers or sausages (contamination ≤ 1 MPN/g) and short temperature abuse (2 h at 25°C) did not facilitate an increase in Salmonella presence and numbers. Thawing overnight in the refrigerator led to either a moderate reduction or no change Salmonella Typhimurium numbers in meats.
Significance: Time-temperature abuse can cause a substantial increase of Salmonella numbers in some types of meats, thus efforts for dissemination of consumer guidelines on correct storage and handling of food need to be continued.