Surface decontamination treatments for improving the safety of meat and poultry

The microbiological safety of raw beef and poultry products continue to be one of the major concerns of the meat industry. In 2011, an estimated 9.4 million illnesses, 55,961 hospitalizations, and 1,351 deaths were attributed to known foodborne pathogens in the USA including Norovirus caused the most illnesses; nontyphoidal Salmonella spp., norovirus, Campylobacter spp., and Toxoplasma gondii caused the most hospitalizations; and nontyphoidal Salmonella spp., T. gondii, Listeriamonocytogenes, and norovirus caused the most deaths [Scallan et al. (Emerg Infect Dis 17:7–15, 2011)]. Several factors influence the incidence of pathogens in the meat and poultry food supply, some of the more important factors are livestock production practices that may inadvertently foster pathogen contamination; the emergence of “new” and antibiotic-resistant pathogens in the environment; increased manipulation and handling and accelerated processing of carcasses and raw materials; modification of traditional processing practices and greater complexity of manufacturing procedures and equipment; a more complex distribution and food preparation system that increases the risk of foodborne disease; more discriminate and selective pathogen detection methods to improve confirmation and trace-back of contaminated product; and consumer habits that represent inappropriate food handling and preparation practices [Keeton and Eddy (Preharvest and postharvest food safety—contemporary issues and future directions. Blackwell, Ames, 2004)]. The surface decontamination treatments of meat and poultry could improve the safety of these products and help to reduce foodborne illnesses. Details of some surface decontamination treatments of raw meat and poultry are discussed in this review. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York