Quality of meat from cattle fed sewage solids

• Published in: Journal of food protection Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 317 - 321
• Main Authors: Ray, E.E, O'Brien, R.T, Stiffler, D.M, Smith, G.S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.1982
• Subjects: animal nutrition; food composition; food quality; meat products
• ISSN: 0362-028X; 1944-9097
• DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X-45.4.317

Beef heifers in a feedlot were fed an experimental (E) diet containing gamma-irradiated ("pasteurized") dried sewage solids as 20% of the diet. Microbial contamination of carcasses was assayed by cultures from swabs taken from the diaphragm muscle and the 12/13th rib area of hanging sides (at slaughter and days 2 and 7 postmortem) and from swabs and core samples of product at day 0 and days 3 and 17 postmortem. Colony counts from core samples taken from bulk ground beef (C) and soaked in peptone water averaged 8.5 x 10 super(4) for day 0 and 7.5 x 10 super(6) for day 3 samples, while samples from E carcasses averaged 3.8 x 10 super(4) (day 0) and 4.1 x 10 super(7) (day 3). Colony counts from surface swabs of beef patties averaged 4.6 x 10 super(4) (day 0) and 5.7 x 10 super(6) (day 3) for C and 6.5 x 10 super(4) (day 0) and 9.4 x 10 super(6) (day 3) for E. Microbial counts of the product surveyed in this study did not differ (P > .05) due to diets (E vs. C).