Elimination by Gamma Irradiation of Salmonella spp. and Strains of Staphylococcus aureus Inoculated in Bison, Ostrich, Alligator, and Caiman Meat†

Abstract

There is an expanding industry for the marketing of high-value meats from animals other than the typical domesticated species, including, but not limited to, bison, ostrich, alligator, and caiman. In this study we compared the gamma radiation resistance of a mixture of salmonellae (Salmonella dublin, S. enteritidis, S. newport, S. senftenberg, and S. typhimurium) and a mixture of Staphylococcus aureus strains (ATCC 13565, ATCC 25923, and B124) when present on ground bison, ostrich, alligator, and caiman meats at 5°C. A minimum of five doses were used to establish the D values, and the studies were replicated three times. Because the type of meat did not significantly (P < 0.05) alter the radiation resistance of salmonellae and of S. aureus only slightly in the case of ostrich meat, all of the results for each organism were combined to obtain radiation D values of 0.53 ± 0.02 and 0.37 ± 0.01 kGy for Salmonella spp. and S. aureus, respectively. The authors conclude that both of these food-borne pathogens, if present, can be eliminated or greatly reduced in number, depending upon the level of contamination, from these meats by gamma radiation doses between 1.5 and 3.0 kGy at 5°C, the doses currently approved by the FDA and USDA for the irradiation of poultry. The authors also conclude that similar, if not identical, control of food-borne pathogens should be expected on edible meats in general, not just on those that are generically related.