Study aims to identify contamination hotspots in meat processing

New research from Texas A&M University is using microbiological techniques to determine how and where pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella survive in meat and poultry processing facilities.

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Ahmet Naim | BigStock.com
Ahmet Naim | BigStock.com

New research from Texas A&M University is using microbiological techniques to determine how and where pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella survive in meat and poultry processing facilities.

The results could lead to new strategies for preventing contamination during food processing and keeping the food supply chain safe.

More than 48 million Americans get sick from a foodborne illness each year and 3,000 people die as a result, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates. Poultry meat that is contaminated with salmonella or other pathogens, chemicals or toxins is the underlying cause of 19% of deaths attributed to foodborne illnesses.

Hidden biofilms

Foodborne pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria form slime-like substances called biofilms.

“Biofilms might look like a slime, but under a microscope, they have very complex architecture,” explained Sapna Chitlapilly Dass, Ph.D., a meat science research assistant professor in the Texas A&M College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science.

“Biofilms are a consortium of different types of bacteria. They are highly resistant to sanitizers and antimicrobial compounds.”

Biofilms tend to accumulate in hard-to-reach places in processing facilities, like the backs of conveyer belts and drains, which can make them difficult to clean.

Dass plans to conduct this research using a combination of microscopic, microfluidic and “omic” or genomic and transcriptomic techniques. The study will compare and contrast the response of mix-species pathogens found in meat processing drains to commonly-used sanitizers, evaluate detachment and transmission dynamics of food pathogens from the biofilm to different locations within the facility and hopefully result in a new design for drainage systems that better ensures food safety.

Testing will occur at Texas A&M, Stanford University and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Agricultural Research Service U.S. Meat Animal Research Center’s pilot meat processing facility in Clay Center, Nebraska.

The study is supported by a $479,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant.

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