Storage Stability and Bacteriological Profile of Refrigerated Ground Beef from Electrically-Stimulated Hot-Boned Carcasses.

An incubation temperature of 22 C was found adequate for estimating the psychrotrophic bacterial population of ground beef from electrically-stimulated carcasses. The aerobic plate count of the product was as low as 8.0 - 9.0 × 10/g. Electrical stimulation of beef carcasses prolonged the lag phase of the psychrotrophic bacterial population by 2 days but enhanced the growth rate during the logarithmic phase of growth (12.2 and 9.9 generations formed in the electrically-stimulated and control samples respectively). The shelf life of the ground beef from electrically-stimulated carcasses was prolonged by 3 days as compared to the control (4-5 vs. 7-8 days respectively). Nonpigmented Pseudomonas predominated in the flora at spoilage of ground beef from electrically-stimulated carcasses and the control. Clostridium perfringens , Salmonella and coliform organisms were not detected, but Staphylococcus aureus was found at a level as low as 10 cells/g.