Effects of irradiation on selected pathogens in meat and meat products

he ability of low and medium dose irradiation to reduce foodborne hazards in meat and meat products was investigated.;Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium were inoculated on cooked pork chops (pumped with salt/polyphosphate brine or untreated) and cured ham. Low (0.75-0.90 kGy) or medium doses (1.8-2.0 kGy) of irradiation, each dose delivered at either a low (8.2 ft/sec) or high (17.9 ft/sec) dose-rate were applied. The meat products were processed, then stored at 7;Medium dose irradiation was more effective in reducing the number of pathogens than low dose, and no dose-rate effect was observed in this study. For pork, low dose irradiation reduced L. monocytogenes by more than 2 log, and S. typhimurium by 1 to 3 log. There was a significant (P...