Slab bacon. The results of the slab bacon study are
summarized in Table 2. The results of the experiment show
an average log reduction of 1.89 when comparing the fixed
main treatment effects of heat treatment (medial and lateral
sides combined) to the uncooked, positive control. These
results are similar to those of a study by Taormina and
Bartholomew (12), who reported a 1.26-log reduction after
the smoking and subsequent chilling of whole belly pieces.
It should be noted that whole belly pieces in this similar
report were heat treated to a lower temperature (48.9uC),
which could explain the smaller reduction in population.
Although not examined in the current study, the addition of
smoke to whole cured pork belly inhibits both S. aureus
growth and enterotoxin production