Determination of growth and toxin production potential of Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens during döner production process

Abstract

Döner is a traditional meat meal that is commonly consumed in Turkey. Although it receives heat treatment during processing,some microorganisms including pathogens may remain alive. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the changes in thenumber of microorganisms (total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, aerobic mesophilic spore-formingbacteria, Staphylococcus-Micrococcus spp.) and survival potential of some pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridiumperfringens) during the cooking period. Experimentally prepared döner kebabs were cooked continuously or intermittently. This processresulted in a reduction of microorganisms depending on the species and the use of low quality raw materials, and a number of bacteriasurvived at significant levels after cooking. The remaining bacteria multiplied and reached unacceptable levels with interrupted heattreatment over a long period of time. However, staphylococcal enterotoxins were not detected in intentionally contaminated samplesthat were kept at room temperature for 18 h after cooking. On the other hand, no significant microbiological changes appeared in rawsections of döner during cooking when the heat source was turned off.