Mladen Rašeta

This study presents the industrial validation of the pasteurization process for finely minced cooked sausages (Frankfurter-type sausages) in small-caliber edible collagen casings, addressing the stringent “zero-tolerance” mandate for Listeria monocytogenes under European Union (EU) Regulation 2024/2895. Real-time thermal-processing evaluation across three industrial chambers using high-resolution temperature monitoring demonstrated that achieving a 74 °C core temperature over a 96 min cycle yielded cumulative pasteurization values of 35.56–50.76 min, inducing a 10.78 to 15.4 log₁₀ reduction in L. monocytogenes. These findings exceed the standard target typically established for vegetative-pathogen reduction, validating this study-derived operational-process threshold by establishing a compliant safety buffer against elevated initial bioburdens, even under documented worst-case industrial field constraints. Ultimately, while rigorous scientific validation of thermal-process parameters provides a robust preventive framework, verifying full compliance with the end-product microbiological standards of Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 remains fundamentally dependent on routine end-product testing combined with strict maintenance of the cold chain (0–4 °C).

The purpose of this study is to explore markets for fresh beef in Serbia by assessing consumers’ attitudes and awareness of three aspects, health, nutrition, and the environment, after being given information. Our working hypothesis was to explore the “halo” and “horn” effects of information about beef production and consumption on consumers. Surveys were carried out with a total sample of 956 beef consumers in order to analyze what they take into account in their buying decisions when they are directly informed. Consciously, we explored three different groups of consumers, consumers conscious about health, nutrition and the environment, which was confirmed after cluster analysis was done. The most numerous groups were customers conscious about health and nutrition, with 39.6% and 35.6% shares of the total number of consumers, respectively. Finally, our results show that consumers value health and environmental information the most, while they were not significantly affected by information about the nutritional benefits of beef.

Current thermal validation in food engineering commonly depends on rigid, temperature-only endpoints that generate thermal stress and the associated energy cost in the case of high-caliber matrices. To overcome this, this study provides a proof of concept for post-heating cooling inertia as the main kinetic driver of cumulative integrated lethality in mass-transfer-limited geometries (p value framework), followed by separate enzymatic and not microbial (or, e.g., oxidative) degradation following product heat transfer. Time-series and multi-spatial thermodynamic profiling was performed for the commercial validation runs of three pasteurization processes of large-diameter (90 mm) finely minced cooked chicken emulsions packed in polyamide casing. When active heating was stopped at a lower core limit of 71 °C, the thermal cooling inertia led total integrated lethality to increase by more than 216%, leading to an ultimate core p value of 76.87–89.56 min. It systematically exceeded the mandatory food safety limit (p ≥ 40 min) in all spatial coordinates in the forced convection chamber, confirming absolute thermal homogeneity. In a subsequent cold-chain stability challenge at around 70 days (0–4 °C), foodborne pathogens were not detected in the product, and saprophytic microflora was limited below critical spoilage bounds (total viable counts (TVC) and dominant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) progressively increased to 3.7 and 3.5 log10 CFU/g on day 70). The autoxidation pathways for primary and secondary lipids remained low (peroxide at 0.00 mmol/kg and malondialdehyde at less than 0.15 mg MDA/kg). On the other hand, a linear progression of free fatty acids (R² = 0.9673) determined that the single enzymatic lipid hydrolysis is responsible for the final biochemical limiting effect of the sensory lifespan. Shelf life evaluation via rigorous quantitative descriptive analysis showed that all organoleptic attributes remained well above market acceptance criteria until day 70. At the same time, this study supports a scalable, prediction-based thermodynamic paradigm that ensures biological safety and fundamentally optimizes industrial energy use.

DoiFil - Repository of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) Issued by Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade

DoiFil - Repository of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) Issued by Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade

DoiFil - Repository of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) Issued by Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade

DoiFil - Repository of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) Issued by Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade