Survey of Microbiological Content of Commercial Beef Jerky

Abstract

Forty-two samples of beef jerky were analyzed. They were aseptically ground and appropriate serial dilutions plated by a spread plate method in duplicate on Baird Parker agar for coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus, and on acidified Potato Dextrose agar for yeast and molds; the pour plate method was used for total plate count on Plate Count Agar, and for coliforms on Violet Red Bile agar. Analyses for Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 were done using Minividas equipment following enrichment in Buffered Peptone Water for the former and Tryptic Soy Broth and Mac Conkey broth for the latter. Findings and Conclusions: No pathogenic bacteria were detected in any sample; the numbers on Plate Count Agar were low. While for a few samples an occasional mold colony appeared on the lowest dilution plated (1:100) most had none. Since we did not detect any pathogens, it is tempting to assume that this product is safe to consume.