BACTERIAL COUNTS ON SURFACES OF CARCASSES AND IN GROUND BEEF FROM CARCASSES SPRAYED OR NOT SPRAYED WITH HYPOCHLOROUS ACID

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Abstract
Bacterial counts were compared for samples from three groups of beef from two different sources. Group 1 samples were from choice forequarters as received, then sprayed with HOC1 (200 mg/L, pH 6.0–6.5, 7.03 kg/cm2, 12 set at 16°C). Group 2 samples served as controls and were from choice forequarters from the same lot as group 1 but not sprayed. Group 3 samples were from frozen boneless lean domestic and imported beef, Surface strip and ground beef samples from groups 1 and 2 had aerobic plate counts (APC) and lactic acid bacteria counts (LABC) that were not significantly different, P < 0.001. Conversely, strip and ground beef samples from group 3 had APC and LABC that were significantly higher, P > 0.001, than those for the control, group 2, samples. Also, the coli‐form and coagulase positive S. aureus counts were also significantly higher for the group 3 ground beef samples. Thus, the hypochlorous acid spray treatment of beef forequarters did not appear to yield ground beef with better bacteriological quality than the unsprayed forequarters from the same source, perhaps because the initial bacterial count was already so low. The higher surface APC of the lean boneless beef, group 3, was reflected in the higher initial APC of the ground beef prepared from that source.