Effectiveness of a Betalains/Potassium Sorbate System versus Sodium Nitrite for Color Development and Control of Total Aerobes, Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium sporogenes in Chicken Frankfurters

Effectiveness of a betalains/sorbate curing system versus a conventional nitrite system for color development and control of microbial growth in chicken frankfurters was tested. Normal heat processing involved in the manufacture of frankfurters was successful in reducing cell levels of indigenous aerobic mesophiles, and spore levels of inoculated Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium sporogenes by 1 to 2 log cycles. There were no significant differences in numbers of C. perfringens spores for either treatment after 9 d of storage at 4 or 20°C. The two curing systems tested were also equally effective in controlling growth of C. sporogenes when tested at 20°C over a 9-d storage period. The betalains/sorbate system proved to be more effective in inhibiting growth of aerobic mesophiles over the 9-d storage period at both 4 and 20°C. It is concluded that in chicken frankfurters under the conditions of this experiment, a betalains/sorbate curing system provided the same level of microbiological protection as...