Thermal resistance of Listeria monocytogenes in sausage meat

The heat resistance of a mixture of 10 different strains of Listeria monocytogenes inoculated into ground meat and ground meat plus cure was examined. D-values for ground meat ranged from 1.01 min at 62 degrees C to 13.18 min at 56 degrees C. The D-values obtained for ground meat plus cure were approximately 5-8 fold times higher than those for ground meat alone. These results imply that rare meats and possibly some cooked fermented meats may not be heated adequately to inactivate Listeria.