Effects of Wholesale and Retail Contamination on the Case Life of Beef1

Abstract

To determine effects of wholesale and retail contamination on steak retail case life, rib steaks were fabricated from wholesale beef ribs using laboratory-simulated extremes of retail processing sanitation. Steak retail case life was more highly correlated with the psychrotrophic bacterial load on the surface of wholesale ribs and retail steaks than with the level of retail processing sanitation. Although steak case life could be predicted as a function of both steak and rib bacterial loads or rib and retail equipment bacterial loads the, following is recommended as the most useful predictor of case life: Steak Case Life (days) = 3.97 – 0.19 (log bacteria/cm2 on wholesale ribs) −0.14 (log bacteria/cm2 on retail processing equipment). This equation could also be used by the retailer to assess the quality of wholesale product received from different suppliers.