Pasturization time & temp for GB jerky sticks in dehydrator

dward51 · Apr 25, 2016

Ok, I have a question for the food safety gurus out here.

The USDA food safety charts show that eat which is brought to 140* throughout the mass of the meat is safely pasturized after being held for 12 minutes at 140 degrees.

Code:

          Minimum Internal         Minimum processing time in            Temperature             minutes or seconds after                                  minimum temperature is reached                    Degrees        Degrees       6.5-log10         7-log10        Fahrenheit     Centigrade    Lethality        Lethality         130            54.4         112 min.         121 min.         131            55.0          89 min.          97 min.         132            55.6          71 min.          77 min.            133            56.1          56 min.          62 min.         134            56.7          45 min.          47 min.         135            57.2          36 min.          37 min.         136            57.8          28 min.          32 min.         137            58.4          23 min.          24 min.         138            58.9          18 min.          19 min.         139            59.5          15 min.          15 min.         140            60.0          12 min.          12 min.         141            60.6           9 min.          10 min.         142            61.1           8 min.           8 min.         143            61.7           6 min.           6 min.         144            62.2           5 min.           5 min.         145            62.8           4 min.*           4 min.*

I've been making ground beef jerky in the dehydrator a lot lately. I dry it at 140 degrees for about 5 to 7 hours depending on the amount of meat, local humidity conditions, thickness of the meat, etc... Thermapen confirms air temp in the dehydrator is 140* or higher (it's an analog dial temp setting). So I'm greatly exceeding the 12 minutes in the USDA chart. I also use cure #1 in the liquid marinade that is mixed in the meat 24 hours before drying (plus the meat is reaching 140* well before the 4 hour window is up). Sticks are not in casings and are 3/8" thick or slightly thinner (using 3/8" LEM tube on stuffer to make 6 to 7" long sticks to put on the dehydrator trays - using LEM 10 tray dehydrator).

So in essence, short of the GB jerky being broken open, the interior of the meat is both cured and pasturized, correct? I also spritz with a potassium sorbate solution before storage to inhibit the possibility of mold growth on the exterior of the sticks. I've been keeping these for up to 3 weeks at room temp without the potassium sorbate without any problems. I recently added this as I'm making larger batches now and the cost is minimal to add another layer of protection from future problems as I plan on vacuum sealing most of the batch for later use.

Or have I totally missed the point of the pasturization time & temp chart?

daveomak · Apr 25, 2016

It's the internal temp of the meat that has to be at a given temperature for a given time..... due to variations in meat thickness and different zones of heat in a smoker or dehydrator, I extend the kill time by up to and hour or 2, just to be safe....

Usually the meat will only get to within 15 degrees of the oven set temp.... evaporative cooling and other stuff.... When I do beef stick, as an example, I set the smoker to 150 ish and after 24 hours the meat is pasteurized and done... No fat out, no sawdust type meat...

FSIS Guidance on Safe Cooking of Non-Intact Meat Chops, Roasts, and Steaks April 2009

Temp °F/ Temp °C /Time for 5.0 log Reduction

Unit Time

130.......... .86 min.

131 ...........69 min.

132.......... 55 min.

133.......... 44 min.

134............ 35 min.

135............. 28 min.

136 ..............22 min.

137 ...............18 min.

138 ...............14 min.

139............... 11 min.

140 ..............9 min.

141.............. 7 min.

142 .............6 min.

143 .............5 min.

144 .............4 min.

145 .............3 min.

146 ..............130 sec.

147.............. 103 sec.

148 ..............82 sec.

149 ..............65 sec.

150............... 52 sec.

151................ 41 sec.

152................ 33 sec.

153 ................26 sec.

154 ................21 sec.

155 ................17 sec.

156 .................14 sec.

157 ..................11 sec.

158 ...................0 sec.

159 ....................0 sec.

160 ....................0 sec.

The required lethalities are achieved instantly when the internal temperature of a cooked meat product reaches 158 °F or above. Humidity must be considered when using this Time/Temperature table.

This Time/Temperature table is based on Thermal Death Curve for Salmonella in Beef Emulsions in tubes (Derived from Goodfellow & Brown1, 1978) Regulatory Curve obtained from Jerry Carosella, Deputy Director, Microbiology Division, Science and Technology. All times that were a fraction of a minute or second was rounded up to the next whole number (e.g., 16.2 seconds for 155 °F was round up to 17 seconds).

________________________ 1. Goodfellow, S. J. and W. L. Brown. 1978. Fate of Salmonella Inoculated into Beef for Cooking. Journal of Food Protection. 41:598-605.

daveomak · Apr 25, 2016

Potassium sorbate is good..... For added protection, wrap the jerky in butcher paper so the vac bags don't get holes poked in them....

One additional thing, the meat must have most of the water removed.... it has to be dry or mold and bacteria will grow... Or you have to add more chemicals to the meat and purge the vac-bags with some gas so it will keep until the bag is opened...

chef jimmyj · Apr 25, 2016

Your procedure is Safe as the thin sticks will have gotten to temp and stayed there in plenty of time. If it will make you feel better, send a sample my way for extensive testing in my Lab...JJ

nw nm smoker · Nov 15, 2021

daveomak said:
It's the internal temp of the meat that has to be at a given temperature for a given time..... due to variations in meat thickness and different zones of heat in a smoker or dehydrator, I extend the kill time by up to and hour or 2, just to be safe....

Usually the meat will only get to within 15 degrees of the oven set temp.... evaporative cooling and other stuff.... When I do beef stick, as an example, I set the smoker to 150 ish and after 24 hours the meat is pasteurized and done... No fat out, no sawdust type meat...

FSIS Guidance on Safe Cooking of Non-Intact Meat Chops, Roasts, and Steaks April 2009

Temp °F/ Temp °C /Time for 5.0 log Reduction

Unit Time

130.......... .86 min.

131 ...........69 min.

132.......... 55 min.

133.......... 44 min.

134............ 35 min.

135............. 28 min.

136 ..............22 min.

137 ...............18 min.

138 ...............14 min.

139............... 11 min.

140 ..............9 min.

141.............. 7 min.

142 .............6 min.

143 .............5 min.

144 .............4 min.

145 .............3 min.

146 ..............130 sec.

147.............. 103 sec.

148 ..............82 sec.

149 ..............65 sec.

150............... 52 sec.

151................ 41 sec.

152................ 33 sec.

153 ................26 sec.

154 ................21 sec.

155 ................17 sec.

156 .................14 sec.

157 ..................11 sec.

158 ...................0 sec.

159 ....................0 sec.

160 ....................0 sec.

The required lethalities are achieved instantly when the internal temperature of a cooked meat product reaches 158 °F or above. Humidity must be considered when using this Time/Temperature table.

This Time/Temperature table is based on Thermal Death Curve for Salmonella in Beef Emulsions in tubes (Derived from Goodfellow & Brown1, 1978) Regulatory Curve obtained from Jerry Carosella, Deputy Director, Microbiology Division, Science and Technology. All times that were a fraction of a minute or second was rounded up to the next whole number (e.g., 16.2 seconds for 155 °F was round up to 17 seconds).

________________________ 1. Goodfellow, S. J. and W. L. Brown. 1978. Fate of Salmonella Inoculated into Beef for Cooking. Journal of Food Protection. 41:598-605.

Hi Mr. Dave, Would this work for pork sticks as well? Thanks

nw nm smoker · Nov 15, 2021

daveomak said:
Potassium sorbate is good..... For added protection, wrap the jerky in butcher paper so the vac bags don't get holes poked in them....

One additional thing, the meat must have most of the water removed.... it has to be dry or mold and bacteria will grow... Or you have to add more chemicals to the meat and purge the vac-bags with some gas so it will keep until the bag is opened...

daveomak · Nov 16, 2021

nw nm smoker said:
Hi Mr. Dave, Would this work for pork sticks as well? Thanks

Yes... Different bacteria require different temps and time... Some bacteria are much tougher than others.... Having the bacteria "wet" increases effectiveness from heat... Dehydrating bacteria is not good.. Kill them when they are damp or wet is very effective...

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Pasturization time & temp for GB jerky sticks in dehydrator

dward51

Master of the Pit

daveomak

SMF Hall of Fame Pitmaster

daveomak

SMF Hall of Fame Pitmaster

chef jimmyj

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

nw nm smoker

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nw nm smoker

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daveomak

SMF Hall of Fame Pitmaster

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