The influence of trisodium phosphate, potassium lactate, sodium metasilicate, cetylpyridinium chloride, or water as antimicrobial intervention systems on microbiological and instrumental color characteristics of beef biceps femoris muscles

Biceps femoris muscle subsections (n = 35) were inoculated with Escherichia coli (EC) and Salmonella Typhimurium (107 cfu/mL). Subsections were spray treated with (1) water; (2) 3% potassium lactate; (3) 4% sodium metasilicate; (4) 0.5% cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC); and (5) 10% trisodium phosphate and compared with (6) an inoculated, untreated control or (7) an uninoculated, untreated control. Steaks from subsections (n = 105) were placed on Styrofoam trays with absorbent pads, overwrapped with polyvinyl chloride film, displayed at 2 °C in a simulated retail display, and sampled on d 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 of display for EC, Salmonella Typhimurium, coliforms (CO), aerobic plate count, and instrumental color characteristics. All treatments were similar (P > 0.05) in redness (a*) to the uninoculated, untreated control through display. The potassium lactate treatment reduced (P < 0.05) CO, EC, and aerobic plate count, and CPC and water reduced (P < 0.05) CO and EC counts on d 0 compared with the inoculated, untreated control. The CPC and sodium metasilicate treatments outperformed (P < 0.05) other treatments in reducing CO, EC, and aerobic plate count counts on d 3 of display. Therefore, potassium lactate, CPC, and sodium metasilicate might provide additional safety for regulatory considerations and beef processors at the subprimal or intact muscle level.