Aims: The present study was designed to determine the individual and combined effects of acidified sodium chlorite (ASC, 0.1%, 24 +/- 1 degrees C), cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC, 0.5%, 24 +/- 1 degrees C) and hot water (HW, 93 +/- 1 degrees C) treatments on the survival of Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus.
Methods and results: Beef samples inoculated with L. monocytogenes and S. aureus were treated with nine different applications singly or in combination. Treatment groups comprised (i) untreated control; (ii) sterile tap water; (iii) 0.1% ASC; (iv) 0.5% CPC; (v) HW; (vi) HW followed by 0.1% ASC; (vii) HW followed by 0.5% CPC; (viii) 0.1% ASC followed by HW; (ix) 0.5% CPC followed by HW. Compared with the untreated control group, the reductions in L. monocytogenes populations were 1.14-2.31 log CFU g(-1), while the reductions in S. aureus populations were 0.83-2.74 log CFU g(-1) on day 0.
Conclusion: The reduction effect that occurred after combined treatment with ASC followed by HW, HW followed by ASC, CPC followed by HW and HW followed by CPC was found to be significantly greater (P < 0.05) than after treatment with ASC and CPC alone on days 0, 2 and 4 of storage.
Significance and impact of the study: ASC, CPC and HW treatments can be used to reduce L. monocytogenes and S. aureus, which would provide an additional measure of safety on the production line.