24 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | JANUARY 2003 A peer-reviewed article. *Author for correspondence: Phone: 970.491.5826; Fax: 970.491.0278; E-mail: kbelk@ceres.agsci.colostate.edu Comparison of Intervention Technologies for Reducing Escherichia coli O157:H7 on Beef Cuts and Trimmings J. R. RANSOM, K. E. BELK,* J. N. SOFOS, J. D. STOPFORTH, J. A. SCANGA, and G. C. SMITH Center for Red Meat Safety, Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1171 SUMMARY This study evaluated the decontamination efficacy of water (W; 25 ° or 55 o C), 2% acetic acid (AA), 0.001% acidified chlorine (AC), 2% lactic acid (LA; 55 o C), 0.02% acidified sodium chlorite (ASC), 0.5% cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), 1% lactoferricin B (LB), and 0.02% peroxyacetic acid (PAA) on Escherichia coli O157:H7 when applied to fresh beef carcass tissue (BCT) surfaces (40 cm 2 ) and lean tissue pieces (LTP; 300 g). Samples were inoculated with a five-strain composite of E. coli O157:H7 and then immersed in the treatment solutions for 30 s. Viable cell counts were enumerated by plating on sorbitol MacConkey (SMAC) agar. Overall, CPC was most effective (P < 0.05) and reduced bacterial populations by 4.8 log CFU/cm 2 and 2.1 log CFU/g on BCT and LTP, respectively. Of the treatments commonly used by industry, LA was the most effective (P < 0.05), as it reduced pathogen populations by 3.3 log CFU/cm 2 and 1.3 log CFU/g on BCT and LTP, respectively. Additionally, ASC, AA, PAA, LB, AC and W reduced pathogen populations when plated on SMAC by 1.9, 1.6, 1.4, 0.7, 0.4 and 1.2 log CFU/cm 2 , when applied to BCT, while corresponding reductions following the above treatment applications to LTP were 1.8, 1.1, 1.0, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.3 log CFU/g, respectively. Results from this study indicated that LA and ASC were the most effective pathogen decontamination solutions currently approved for commercial use. Information regarding the antibacterial efficacy of decontamination solutions should prove beneficial to industry personnel as a means of improving microbiological quality as well as potentially improving the quality of non-intact beef tissue. ® Food Protection Trends, Vol. 23, No. 1, Pages 24-34 Copyright © 2003, International Association for Food Protection 6200 Aurora Ave., Suite 200W, Des Moines, IA 50322-2864