EN
The purpose of the work was to compare the growth rate of Salmonella cells in unirradiated and irradiated samples of cured meat, inoculated following irradiation, and stored under room temperature. The samples of pork were cured with the addition of 0 and 156 mg/kg sodium nitrate, pasteurized for 30 min at 70°C, irradiated with 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 kGy, inoculated with S. enteritidis or S. typhimurium and incubated at 20°C. The number of the bacteriae was determined after 0, 1, 2 and 3 days of storage. The findings demonstrated that: a) Sodium nitrate at a dose of 156 mg/kg decreased the growth rate of the bacterial cells in cured meat, b) Irradiation of cured meat without NaN02 had no effect on the growth rate of salmonellae, c) A high dose of irradiation (10—50 kGy) of cured meat with the addition of 156 mg/kg sodium nitrate led to a faster multiplication of the bacterial cells in the samples under study.