Abstract
Fresh hams were inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus, cured, equalized, cold smoked or non-smoked, and aged. Initial S. aureus populations of 8.57 and 8.12 Log10 CFU/cm2 for salt and salt + NO2hams decreased to below the levels of detection after the fourth month of aging. S. aureus was detected following enrichment for 75% of the inoculated and 62% of the control hams at the end of the aging period. Staphylococcal enterotoxin was detected in 40% of the inoculated and 50% of the control hams following the aging period. The NaCl content of these hams with or without nitrite were 4.45/3.37% and aw values 0.94/0.91. Country-cured ham products obtained from retail stores in Kentucky were all negative for S. aureus enterotoxin. These results indicate that higher salt content and lower aw values on country-cured hams play an important role in controlling the growth and toxin production of S. aureus.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 267-273 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Meat Science |
Volume | 62 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2002 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Special acknowledgment is made of the National Pork Producers Council for partial support of this research. Thanks to Katherine Akers for technical assistance and advice.
Keywords
- Country-cured hams
- Staphylococcal enterotoxin
- Staphylococcus aureus
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Food Science