Microbial spoilage, quality and safety within the context of meat sustainability

• Foodborne outbreaks still affect millions worldwide.
• Microbial spoilage, loss and waste keep challenging profitability.
• Developing innovative ways to meet consumer demands without compromising safety
• Microflora management instead of creating a microbial void for contaminants
• Undetected survivors prompted research on cell near death physiology.

Meat is a nutrient-dense food that provides ideal conditions for microbes to grow and defines its perishable nature. Some organisms simply spoil it while others are a threat to our health. In either case, meat must be discarded from the food chain and, being wasted and consequently an environmental burden. Worldwide, more than 20% of the meat produced is either lost or wasted. Hence, coordinated efforts from farm to table are required to improve microbial control as part of our effort towards global sustainability. Also, new antimicrobial systems and technologies arise to better fulfill consumer trends and demands, new lifestyles and markets, but for them to be used to their full extent, it is imperative to understand how they work at the molecular level. Undetected survivors, either as injured, dormant, persister or viable but non-culturable (VBNC) cells, undermine proper risk evaluation and management.

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