Enhanced high hydrostatic pressure lethality in acidulated raw pet food formulations was pathogen species and strain dependent

The Combined Use of High Pressure Processing and Lactic Acid Containing Fermentate on Inactivation of Salmonella, Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes in Raw Pet Foods

Raw meat pet foods can pose health risks to pets and humans. High-pressure processing (HPP) was used in a previous study to demonstrate its effectiveness in achieving a 5-log reduction of Salmonella, E. coli STEC, and L. monocytogenes in commercially available raw pet foods and maintaining the 5-log reduction throughout shelf-life with frozen storage being more effective than refrigerated. L. monocytogenes, being more HPP resistant, could potentially regrow when stored at refrigeration temperatures and required further optimization. Chicken-based raw diet pet food was inoculated with 7-8 log CFU/g cocktails of Salmonella spp., E. coli STEC, or L. monocytogenes and stored at 4 °C for 24 h before the addition of either 0.7% or 1.0% w/v lactic acid fermentate (LAF) and HPP treated at 586 MPa for 2, 3, and 4 min after 24 or 72 h storage at 4 °C. HPP-treated products were stored frozen (-10 to -16 °C) up to 21 days with microbiological analyses on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, and 21. All HPP-and LAF-treated samples demonstrated a 5-log reduction of Salmonella spp., E. coli STEC, and L. monocytogenes. Samples without LAF and HPP treated after 24 h storage at 4 °C resulted in an average 4.02 log cfu/g reduction of L. monocytogenes with 2 min HPP hold time while longer HPP hold times at 4 min improved L. monocytogenes reduction by 0.35 log cfu/g. E. coli was found to be more HPP resistant in this study than L. monocytogenes and the addition of LAF had a significant impact on the overall pathogen survival during post-HPP storage. Based on qualitative enrichment data for each pathogen, the use of LAF resulted in more complete inactivation compared to samples without LAF. The use of 1% LAF in combination with 586 MPa for 4 min was found to be most effective for the inactivation of Salmonella spp., E. coli STEC, and L. monocytogenes. The findings are significant as it provides both formulation and processing controls to ensure the safety of raw diet pet foods.

Salmonella Presence and Risk Mitigation in Pet Foods: A Growing Challenge with Implications for Human Health

Pet food is increasingly recognized as a significant vehicle for the transmission of foodborne pathogens to humans. The intimate association between pets and their owners, coupled with the rising trend of feeding pets raw and unprocessed foods, contributes substantially to this issue. Salmonella contamination in pet food can originate from raw materials and feed ingredients, the processing environment, and postprocessing handling and applications. The absence of standardized postprocessing pathogen mitigation steps in the production of dry kibble and treats, along with the lack of validated heat and chemical interventions in raw pet foods, renders pet food susceptible to contamination by pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, etc. Pets can then serve as carriers of Salmonella, facilitating its transmission to pet owners. Since 1999, there have been over 117 recalls of pet foods due to Salmonella contamination in the United States, with 11 of these recalls linked to human outbreaks. Notably, 5 of the 11 human outbreaks involved multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains. Various antimicrobial interventions, including high-pressure processing, ozone, irradiation, chemical treatments such as organic acids and acidulants, plant-derived antimicrobials, and biological interventions such as bacteriophages, have proven effective against Salmonella in pet foods. This review aims to summarize the prevalence of Salmonella in different types of pet foods, identify common sources of contamination, outline reported outbreaks, and discuss control measures and the regulatory framework governing pet food safety.

Enumeration Agar, Acid Exposure and Sampling Time Are Relevant Factors Accounting for the High-Pressure Inactivation of Vegetative Pathogens in Fruit Puree

High pressure processing (HPP) is a non-thermal technology with emerging application within the fruit and vegetable sector. The impact of the enumeration agar on the recorded HPP inactivation of L. monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and E. coli in banana-apple and apple purees was evaluated. Additionally, the HPP inactivation and sublethal injury was quantified in apple puree, considering the impact of acid exposure (24 h before HPP) and sampling time. Inoculated purees were pressurized at 300 MPa for 2 min. Enumeration was performed immediately and 24 h after HPP. HPP inactivation was 0.9-to-4.5-fold higher in apple than banana-apple puree. Compared with nutrient-rich media, selective agar enumeration overestimated the inactivation. HPP inactivation and sublethal injury of L. monocytogenes, Salmonella and E. coli was variable, mainly dependent on the exposure to acid and the sampling time. The 24 h-delayed enumeration slightly increased the inactivation. In apple puree, the CECT5947 strain of E. coli O157:H7 was the most piezo-resistant strain (1.5 log reduction), while L. monocytogenes Scott A was the most piezo-sensitive (6-log reduction when exposed to acid and sampled 24 h after HPP). All the studied factors should be taken into account when designing HPP treatments, performing product-specific validation studies and setting verification procedures.

Strategies for Healthier Meat Foods: An Overview

Functional food products remain the focus of current market trends toward healthier nutrition. The consumption of meat-based functional foods has been a topic of interest in food innovation since some of these products generate controversy due to their possible adverse effects on health. However, studies have demonstrated that meat-based functional products are considered an opportunity to improve the nutritional profile of meat products through the addition of biologically valuable components and to meet the specific needs of consumers. In this sense, some strategies and techniques are applied for processing and developing functional meat products, such as modifying carcass composition through feeding, reformulating meat products, and processing conditions. This review focuses on presenting developed and evaluated strategies that allow the production of healthy and functional meat foods, which application has successfully achieved the sensory, nutritional, and technological parameters mainly affected by such application.