ABSTRACTSterile slices of cooked uncured turkey loaf were inoculated with 106CFU of eitherSalmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Citrobacter freundii, Klebsiella pneumoniae,orEnterobacter cloacae.Inoculated samples were vacuum‐packaged and stored at 3 ± 1°C. Microorganisms were enumerated at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 days on nonselective media. K. pneumoniaeexhibited the least cold‐tolerance with a log101.70 decrease in numbers. The coliformsE. cloacae, E. coli,andC. freundiihad a survival pattern similar to that ofS. typhimurium,with population decreases of log100.65, 0.82, 1.13, and 0.79, respectively. E. faecalisandL. monocytogeneswere significantly more cold‐resistant, with a decrease of log100.20 and no significant change in numbers, respectively. Survival ofE. faecaliswas not significantly (p<0.01) different than that ofL. monocytogenes,suggesting the use of enterococci as indicators ofL. monocytogenescontamination of processe