Effect of a Short Cold Storage on Frequency of Spoilage in Pasteurized (Perishable) Canned Meat Products Subjected to the Incubation Test

Abstract

Investigations were carried out in 6 meat processing plants in Poland on the effect of a short storage period on the results of the incubation test of various canned pasteurized meat products. From the daily consignments, 1% of the cans was reserved within 1–3 d of production and incubated at 37°C for 3 d. The remaining cans of the consignments were stored at around 8°C. When spoilage resulted in one or more of the incubated cans from any consignment, about 2% of other cans from that consignment were taken, and the incubation test was repeated. These later incubation tests were initiated 7–10 d after the date of production. From among 4,322 cans subjected to first incubation test 980 (22.67%) produced swells but in the repeated incubation carried out on 8,290 cans only 347 (4.18%) became swollen. It is concluded that the bacteria responsible for spoilage of canned pasteurized meat products may disappear or lose their ability to spoil these products during the storage under refrigeration.