The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different dry aging temperatures on the behavior of Listeria innocua used as a surrogate of L. monocytogenes. The process was performed in boneless loin pieces for up to 42 days at 2 and 8 °C. The behavior of L. innocua was influenced by the temperature, aging time, and the water activity of the beef surface (P < .05). After 42 days, reductions of 2.38 and 3.37 log cfu/g were obtained on the beef surface aged at 2 and 8 °C, respectively. According to data predicted by the Weibull model, the samples aged at 2 °C would achieve a 4-log reduction with twice the time required for the process at 8 °C. After trimming, 66.7% of the samples aged at 2 °C were positive for L. innocua, whereas at 8 °C the rate was 33.3%. Therefore, the results showed that the increase of process time and temperature as well by decrease of the aw reduces L. innocua counts.
Keywords: Dry aging; Food safety; Listeria; Meat.
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