Cultured dextrose to preserve deli meat

New research found that natural antimicrobial cultured dextrose in combination with buffered vinegar played the most important role in preserving turkey deli meat.

2/26/20241 min read

meat, deli meat preservation, cultured dextrose
meat, deli meat preservation, cultured dextrose

Cultured dextrose, as a natural antimicrobial agent and mold inhibitor, enjoys its widespread applications beyond baked goods.

A Cargill study investigated the effects of product attributes such as pH, moisture, salt content, and a natural antimicrobial agent on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in cooked, sliced deli turkey breast (https://doi.org/10.4315/JFP-21-379). The antimicrobial agent consisted of cultured dextrose and buffered vinegar.

The study found that both lag time and maximum growth rate of Listeria monocytogenes were significantly affected by the antimicrobial concentration and product pH, indicating the antimicrobials played the most important role in preserving turkey deli meat.

Cultured dextrose is most effective at pH 5.5 or below if its key active ingredient is propionate. The product pH needs to be below pH 4.5 for cultured dextrose containing lactate to be effective because lactic acid has a pKa of 3.86 comparing to 4.87 of propionic acid. This paper did not disclose the active ingredient of cultured dextrose involved, but according to the testing meat pH range (pH between 6.1 to 6.9), it is more likely to be propionate than lactate.