| Summary: | Cells of <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, <i>Salmonella</i> spp., or Shiga toxin-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> (STEC) were inoculated (ca. 4.0 log CFU/slice) onto slices (ca. 4 g each slice) of an all-beef soppressata (ca. pH 5.05 and a<sub>w</sub> 0.85). The storage of vacuum-sealed slices of inoculated soppressata at 4 °C or 20 °C for 90 days resulted in reductions of all three pathogens by ca. 2.2 to 3.1 or ca. ≥3.3 log CFU/slice, respectively. When pathogen levels decreased to below detection (≤1.18 log CFU/slice) by direct plating, it was possible to recover each of the target pathogens by enrichment, albeit more frequently from slices stored at 4 °C (<i>p</i> < 0.05) compared to 20 °C. In summary, the slices of the commercially produced beef soppressata selected for this study did not provide a favorable environment for either survival or outgrowth of surface-inoculated cells of <i>L. monocytogenes</i>, <i>Salmonella</i> spp., or STEC during storage.
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