title: Survival of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus during commercial heat treatment of slab bacon and consumer preparation of sliced bacon.
abstract: With the knowledge that retail pork products may be contaminated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the risk of consumers contracting a MRSA infection or foodborne illness from processed meats, especially bacon, is uncertain. Therefore, a study was designed to investigate the survival of MRSA during heat treatment of slab bacon at a commercial process and during cooking of sliced bacon at the consumer level. Fresh pork bellies were injected with a curing solution, inoculated, and heat treated to an internal temperature of 52°C. Three commercial brands of sliced bacon with similar "sell by" dates and fat-to-lean ratios were also inoculated and cooked at a temperature of 177°C for 0, 2, and 5 min on each side. Heat-treated slab bacon showed a log reduction of 1.89, which was significant (P < 0.05) compared with an uncooked inoculated control. Cooked sliced bacon had a reduction of viable MRSA cells of >6.5 log CFU/cm(2), and there was not a significant brand interaction (P > 0.05).
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cordray
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Aubrey F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Mendonca
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Prusa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003296:Cooking; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007700:Kinetics; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000254:growth & development*; D013552:Swine; D013997:Time Factors