How the Application of Antimicrobial Hurdles in Meat Processing Facilities Shapes Microbial Ecology

Livestock carries bacteria, and a fraction of the livestock microbiota will end up on meat during the process of converting muscle to meat product. Equipment used in meat production and the processing facilities are routinely cleaned and sanitized. Even so, the cleaning and sanitizing do not strive for sterility, but to reduce the bacteria on surfaces to an acceptable level. The bacteria carried by animals and in the facilities may include human pathogens. For instance, cattle are asymptomatic carriers of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, which can cause severe disease in humans. Similarly, pigs and broilers may carry Salmonella and Campylobacter. In order to control these enteric pathogens on meat, multiple antimicrobial hurdles are implemented in meat packing plants, such as pasteurization of carcasses with steam or hot water, and spraying carcasses and cuts with lactic acid and peroxyacetic acid.

Many studies have evaluated the efficacy of these treatments for pathogens and hygiene indicators. However, information on how they shape the microbial community in meat processing facilities on the whole or their impact on organisms that are significant to product shelf life is limited. In addition, sanitization may select for bacteria that are less susceptible to biocides. Information on whether or not the application of these hurdles would give rise to bacterial resistance to these biocides or cross-resistance to other sanitizers or therapeutic antibiotics is needed.

This Research Topic collects papers that add to our understanding of how antimicrobial hurdles shape the microbial ecology in meat processing facilities and meat products as well as their relationship with antimicrobial resistance. We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Opinion, Hypothesis and Theory, and Perspectives.