Meat powder pops: microbiology and palatability of freeze-dried horse meat used in frozen enrichment

Citation

Peck RL and Treiber KH. 2023. Meat powder pops: microbiology and palatability of freeze-dried horse meat used in frozen enrichment. In Brooks M, Fidgett A, Kendrick E, Treiber K Eds. Proceedings of the Fifteenth Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition Foundation and AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Hybrid.

Abstract

Acquiring blood or meat juice to make meat-flavored ice pops can be difficult. An alternative is to make meat powder by freeze-drying readily available raw meat. Freeze-drying is often used for food preservation where the removal of moisture from food products inhibits microbial growth. Horse meat was processed and swabbed for microbial analysis (total plate count, E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria) through multiple stages of the freeze-drying process and after two weeks of storage at room temperature or in a freezer. The process of freeze-drying reduced the microbial growth of the initial wet meat from 1.27×107 cfu to 1.87×105 cfu, within satisfactory pathogen limits, after freeze drying. Meat powder pops were made by mixing 1 T of meat powder in 8oz of water and then freezing. Frozen ice treats made from meat juice or meat powder were offered to 2.1 African Lion, 0.5 African Painted Dog, 2.0 Bobcat, 1.1 Grey Fox, 1.1 Jaguar, 1.1 Spotted Hyena, and 1.1 Sumatran Tiger to test palatability.

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