The impact of dry ageing vacuum-packed pork on the viability of Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts.

The impact of dry ageing vacuum-packed pork on the viability of Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts. Food Microbiol. 2020 Apr;86:103331 Authors: Alves BF, Gennari SM, Oliveira S, Soares HS, Conte-Junior CA, Dubey JP, Amaku M, Jesus Pena HF Abstract The present study evaluated the viability of Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts in dry-aged pork loins (m. longissimus) after 14, 21 and 28 days under controlled temperature (0 °C ± 1 °C). The pigs (n = 9) were orally inoculated with 3,000 T. gondii oocysts. The right loin of each pig was aged for a predetermined period, and the left loin was kept unprocessed as a control. Two experiments were performed. In Experiment 1, the loins of three pigs were aged for 14 days and then bioassayed in both cats and mice. In Experiment 2, the loins of six pigs were bioassayed only in mice, and the ageing periods were 14, 21, and 28 days. Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts remained viable in loins aged up to 14 days, as confirmed by bioassays in cats and mice. Viable T. gondii was not recovered by bioassays in mice from loins that were aged for 21 or 28 days. These results demonstrate that T. gondii remained viable in vacuum-packed dry-aged pork loins for 14 days at controlled temperature but not for 21 days or longer. PMID: 31703851 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Food Microbiology - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Food Microbiol Source Type: research