Prevalence and risk factors of potential pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica in Tunisian frozen ground beef through a shelf‐life monitoring protocol validation

Microbiological safety of dry-aged meat: a critical review of data gaps and research needs to define process hygiene and safety criteria

Dry-aged meat is gaining popularity among food business operators and private consumers. The process is carried out in aerobic conditions by hanging beef carcasses or placing subprimal or primal cuts in a dedicated cabinet for several weeks or even months while controlling the environment through the management of process parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, and airflow. In this review, we present a critical evaluation of the literature to evaluate tools to manage the process to guarantee food safety and identify critical control points, as well as good hygiene and manufacturing practices. In controlled aging conditions, only Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia enterocolitica can multiply, while a reduction in the number of Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 is generally reported. Enterobacteriaceae usually decrease on the surface of the meat during maturation; thus, for the purpose of the hygiene evaluation of the production process, a count no higher than that of unmatured meat is expected. Besides, various studies report that the total bacterial count and the spoilage microorganisms significantly increase on the surface of the meat, up to 5-6 Log10 CFU/g in the absence of visible spoilage. Bacteria of the Pseudomonas genus tend to progressively replace other microorganisms during maturation; thus, the total mesophilic or psychrophilic bacterial load is not a good indicator of process hygiene for matured meat. Critical parameters for the control of the process are temperature, relative humidity, and ventilation, which should be monitored during the process. For this reason, equipment designed and certified for dry-aging must be used, and the manufacturer must validate the process. Food business operators must apply general good manufacturing practices (GMP) and good hygiene practices (GHP) for meat processing and some GMP and GHP specific for dry-aging. Several research needs were identified, among them the evolution of the populations of L. monocytogenes and Y. enterocolitica and the microbiology of the inner parts of the dry-aged meat.

Antibacterial, Antifungal and Antiviral Polymeric Food Packaging in Post-COVID-19 Era

Consumers are now more concerned about food safety and hygiene following the COVID-19 pandemic. Antimicrobial packaging has attracted increased interest by reducing contamination of food surfaces to deliver quality and safe food while maintaining shelf life. Active packaging materials to reduce contamination or inhibit viral activity in packaged foods and on packaging surfaces are mostly prepared using solvent casting, but very few materials demonstrate antiviral activity on foods of animal origin, which are important in the human diet. Incorporation of silver nanoparticles, essential oils and natural plant extracts as antimicrobial agents in/on polymeric matrices provides improved antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. This paper reviews recent developments in antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral packaging incorporating natural or synthetic compounds using preparation methods including extrusion, solvent casting and surface modification treatment for surface coating and their applications in several foods (i.e., bakery products, fruits and vegetables, meat and meat products, fish and seafood and milk and dairy foods). Findings showed that antimicrobial material as films, coated films, coating and pouches exhibited efficient antimicrobial activity in vitro but lower activity in real food systems. Antimicrobial activity depends on (i) polar or non-polar food components, (ii) interactions between antimicrobial compounds and the polymer materials and (iii) interactions between environmental conditions and active films (i.e., relative humidity, oxygen and water vapor permeability and temperature) that impact the migration or diffusion of active compounds in foods. Knowledge gained from the plethora of existing studies on antimicrobial polymers can be effectively utilized to develop multifunctional antimicrobial materials that can protect food products and packaging surfaces from SARS-CoV-2 contamination.