Thermal inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains and Salmonella spp. in camel meat burgers

The study aimed to determine D and z-values of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains and Salmonella spp. in camel lean meat burger (CM) and camel meat burger with hump fat (CMF). Two E. coli O157:H7 strains, S. Typhimurium and S. Copenhagen were mixed individually with CM and CMF samples, placed in sterile pouches and exposed to water bath heat treatment at 55, 57.5, 60, 62.5, 65, 67.5 °C for different time intervals. The D-values of E. coli O157:H7 161-84 in CM burgers at 60, 62.5, 65, 67.5 °C were 53.5, 20.1, 8.3, and 3.0 s, respectively, while the values in CMF samples were 76.0, 25.9, 9.9 and 4.1 s, respectively. The D-values of S. Typhimurium in CM burgers at 55, 57.5, 60, 62.5 °C were 349.2, 70.5, 18.4 and 6.7 s, respectively, while the values in CMF were 512.1, 77.1, 21.1 and 8.4 s, respectively. There was a significant (P < 0.05) difference in the D-values of E. coli O157:H7 strains and Salmonella spp. between the two formulations. The z-values of E. coli O157:H7 strains and Salmonella spp. ranged from 5.0 to 6.0 °C and 4.1–4.4 °C, respectively. This study provides preliminary data to the camel meat industry to validate thermal processes.