SANITARY QUALITY OF MARKET GROUND BEEF IN DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

摘要

The analysis of one hundred ground beef samples in a time frame that bracketed the 27 January 1997 implementation of the Pathogen Reduction Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Rule permitted the exploration of the sanitary quality of market ground beef. Data were obtained relative to total aerobic plate counts (APC), total coliform counts, and E. coli O157:H7 from 50 pre-HACCP samples (1995-1996) and were compared with data from 50 post-HAACP samples (1998-1999). Log-likelihoods, based on assuming log-normal distributions of counts, were used in likelihood ratio (LR) χ~2 tests of equality of the distributions of APC and of coliform counts between the two time frames. Distributions of counts differed significantly between these two periods. Although the presence of E. coli O157:H7 was detected in one of 50 samples from both time frames, enterotoxigenic E. coli O157:H7 was confirmed only for the sample from 1995-1996. Recall and infection data from the Food Service and Inspection Services (FSIS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) respectively, covering the study period were compared for three principal foodborne pathogens: E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Listeria. Monthly numbers of product recalls appeared to be positively correlated with numbers of E. coli O157:H7 infections, but are uncorrelated with numbers of Listeria and Salmonella infections.