Table 2. Effect of doneness on the microbes in pork steak with different initial microbial numbers

Microbes (Log CFU/g)	Doneness	Pork steak thickness (cm)		SEM
Microbes (Log CFU/g)	Doneness	1.5	2.0	SEM
Aerobic plate count	Raw	5.51^a	6.50^a	0.127
	Medium-rare	2.30^b	3.14^b	0.027
	Medium	ND^c	ND^c	0.000
	Well-done	ND^c	ND^c	0.000
	SEM	0.020	0.089	0.000
Coliforms	Raw	1.00^a	0.77^a	0.028
	Medium rare	ND^b	ND^b	0.000
	Medium	ND^b	ND^b	0.000
	Well done	ND^b	ND^b	0.000
	SEM	0.000	0.196	0.000

Means within a doneness with different superscript differ significantly at p<0.05.
ND, not detected.