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Culture-dependent and Culture-independent Evaluation of the Effect of Protective Cultures on Spoilage-related Bacteria in Vacuum-packaged Beef Mince

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Abstract

This study investigated the effects of two commercial protective cultures, one containing Lactobacillus sakei (now Latilactobacillus sakei) and the other containing Staphylococcus carnosus and L. sakei, in vacuum-packaged minced beef (ground beef) to advance the understanding of this biopreservation approach for fresh meat shelf-life extension. The protective cultures’ effects on spoilage-related bacterial profiles over time were evaluated using both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods in premium (containing 7.7% fat) and standard (containing 19.2% fat) beef mince stored at 4 °C for 12 days. The culture-dependent method showed that in premium mince, the mixed culture containing S. carnosus and L. sakei significantly suppressed the growth of Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas spp. The culture containing only L. sakei exhibited a slight inhibitory effect against these spoilage bacteria. In contrast, neither protective culture inhibited the spoilage bacteria in standard mince. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated bacterial community changes by protective cultures. Photobacterium spp., a potentially important group of meat spoilage bacteria that were usually undetected in culture-dependent studies, were found to be abundant in this study. The protective cultures’ impact on other meat quality aspects was also assessed. The culture containing S. carnosus and L. sakei lowered the pH of both premium and standard mince more than the culture containing only L. sakei, and the mixed culture slightly decreased the redness of premium mince. These findings support the use of protective cultures for bacterial spoilage control and shelf-life extension of fresh red meat, but their application may be limited to lean or low-fat products.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the staff of the RMIT STEM College microbiology laboratories and the Food Research and Innovation Centre for their support in the experimental activities.

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Meat Processor Corporation (grant no. 2016–1438) and the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biosciences and Food Technology, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    Michelle M. Xu, Mandeep Kaur, Christopher J. Pillidge & Peter J. Torley

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  1. Michelle M. Xu
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  2. Mandeep Kaur
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Michelle Xu, Mandeep Kaur, Christopher Pillidge, and Peter Torley; methodology: Michelle Xu, Mandeep Kaur, Christopher Pillidge, and Peter Torley; investigation: Michelle Xu; formal analysis: Michelle Xu and Mandeep Kaur; writing—original draft: Michelle Xu; writing—review and editing: Michelle Xu, Mandeep Kaur, Christopher Pillidge, and Peter Torley; funding acquisition: Peter Torley; supervision: Mandeep Kaur, Christopher Pillidge, and Peter Torley; project administration: Michelle Xu, Mandeep Kaur, Christopher Pillidge, and Peter Torley.

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Correspondence to Michelle M. Xu.

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Xu, M.M., Kaur, M., Pillidge, C.J. et al. Culture-dependent and Culture-independent Evaluation of the Effect of Protective Cultures on Spoilage-related Bacteria in Vacuum-packaged Beef Mince. Food Bioprocess Technol 16, 382–394 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-022-02948-4

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