It should be noted that whole belly pieces in this similar report were heat treated to a lower temperature 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. Although not significantly different (P ~ 0.21) from the medial-side negative-control group, there was observed growth on the lateral-side negative-control group. Although not tested, these were assumed to be methicillin-susceptible S. aureus organisms, which are found sporadically on sliced bacon. Day of replication was a significant factor in the model (P ~ 0.01), so the mixed-effect day-within-treatment interaction was added to the statistical model. This term in the model may explain the observed growth for the lateralside negative-control group, which means contamination of the sample could have occurred for that particular group. The block of location on the belly was not significantly different (P . 0.05) within the main treatment effects and
did not significantly impact the fixed main treatment effect of cooking. The average time for heat treatment to achieve
an internal temperature