Post-chill antimicrobial treatments to control Salmonella, Listeria, and Campylobacter contamination on chicken skin used in ground chicken

Abstract

Ground poultry products are frequently contaminated with foodborne pathogens. With increased regulatory guidelines from USDA-FSIS, it is important to employ sufficient intervention strategies to control pathogen levels effectively. In this research, antimicrobials including 50 ppm chlorine, 1,200 ppm peracetic acid (PAA) and a combination of these chemicals with 0.5% chlorine-stabilizer (T-128) were used in a post-chill system to reduce the number of inoculated S. Typhimurium, L. monocytogenes, and C. coli. Results showed that the chlorine+T-128 provided no significant effect in reducing the number of pathogens on ground chicken when compared to water treatment, but it did help decrease pathogen levels in chill water. PAA was found to be the most effective (p≤0.05) antimicrobial, not only in reducing the number of pathogens on ground chicken but also in post-chill water. Using PAA with/without a stabilizer can be an effective intervention strategy to lessen contamination on chicken skin prior to grinding.