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Published on: September 19, 2017
Influence of Retail Display Temperature on Psychrotrophic Bacterial Growth and Beef Case-Life
G Gordon Greer1, L E Jeremiah1
1Research Station, Agriculture Canada, Lacombe, Alberta, T0C 1S0, Canada.
Abstract:
Laboratory-simulated retail conditions were employed to examine the effects of retail display temperature upon growth of psychrotrophic bacteria and the retail case-life of rib-eye steaks. The temperature of continuously displayed steaks ranged from 7.5 to 14.2 C and under these conditions an average case-life of 2.4 days was determined. However, when steaks were limited in their time of retail display, by overnight refrigeration in a walk-in cooler (1 C), steak temperatures were reduced to 1 C and retail case-life substantially extended to 4.9 days. Increased retail case-life resulted from a reduction in psychrotrophic bacterial growth which was related to the rate of deterioration of steak retail appearance. These findings provide an alternative to the continuous retail display of beef which, if applied, could greatly improve beef case-life and reduce spoilage losses.
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