Thermal inactivation of pathogens and verification of adequate cooking in meat and poultry products

This chapter discusses thermal inactivation of pathogens and verification of adequate cooking in meat and poultry products. The chapter reviews thermal processing as a means to eliminate microbial pathogens in meat and poultry. Besides discussing the evolution of thermal processing regulations in the US and listing official and alternative tests to verify compliance with the cooking requirements, an effort has been made to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages for each of the verification methods as well as the challenges to determine the thermal inactivation kinetics of microbial pathogens. The chapter reviews the thermal processing requirements currently implemented in the US; thermal inactivation of most common microbial pathogens found in meat and poultry products, and the use of thermometers, color determination, endpoint temperature indicators, and time-temperature integrators as means of verifying thermal processing adequacy.