This study was carried out to isolate and identify Salmonella species from poultry slaughterhouses and pork meat processing plants during the period from January 1997 to August 1998, and analyze resistance of antimicrobial agents and plasmid profiles of isolated Salmonella strains. A total of 15 Salmonella strains was isolated from poultry carcasses, swine carcasses, pork meats and cutting boards. Identified Salmonella strains were S. typhimurium, S. heidelberg, S. hilingdon, S. mbandaka, and S. virginia. Ten (66.7%) of 15 Salmonella strains showed resistance to antimicrobial agents and five strains (33.3%) of them were resistant to two or more antimicrobial agents. Plasmids were isolated from three Salmonella isolates which had two or more plasmids.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of pork loin meat through microwave treatment. The microwave treatment was divided into two groups: continuing microwave treatment (CW) and holding microwave treatment (HW). The microwave treatment resulted in a whiter color (L value) and affected the a, b value. The initial pH was 5.51~5.74, but it increased to 6.32~6.51 when the pork loin samples were stored for three days. During storage for 14 days, the pH changes were not significantly different (p>0.05). The thiobarbituric-acid values of all the pork loin samples increased along with the storage period, and decreased with increasing microwave dose. The volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) content of the control was higher than those of the other samples, and the VBN content decreased along with the microwave dose. The total plate counts of the pork loin samples decreased with increasing microwave dose. The study results indicated that T2 (100 W, HW) is most effective for the safety of pork loin meat without decreasing the meat’s physicochemical and microbiological characteristics.