A AMIRI - Department of Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
H ZANDI - Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
H Mozaffari Khosravi - Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

Background: Electron beam irradiation is one of the effective ways to control food-borne pathogens. We evaluated the effect of electron beam irradiation on survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica serovar Thyphimurium in minced camel meat during refrigerated storage.Methods: The meat samples were inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 and S. enterica serovar Thyphimurium and then irradiated with doses of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 5 kGy. The samples were stored at 4±1 °C and evaluated microbiologically up to 10 days. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18.Results: The microbial loads of minced camel meat samples were significantly reduced (p<0.0001) with increasing the dose of irradiation. The most effective dose was 5 kGy that highly reduced S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, and completely destroyed E. coli O157:H7. However, E. coli O157:H7 was more sensitive to electron beam irradiation than S. enterica serovar Typhimurium.Conclusion: Electron beam irradiation effectively reduced the population of both E. coli O157:H7 and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium in minced camel meat in a dose dependent manner.

Food Irradiation,Food Preservation,Meat,Escherichia coli,Salmonella,