Bacterial populations of broiler carcasses washed in mixtures of potassium hydroxide and lauric acid

Authors: Hinton Jr, Arthur; Northcutt, Julie; Cason Jr, John; Smith, Douglas; Ingram, Kimberly

Submitted to: Journal of Applied Poultry Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2007
Publication Date: 8/1/2007
Citation: Hinton Jr, A., Northcutt, J.K., Cason Jr, J.A., Smith, D.P., Ingram, K.D. 2007. Bacterial populations of broiler carcasses washed in mixtures of potassium hydroxide and lauric acid. Journal of Applied Poultry Research. 16:387-391.

Interpretive Summary: A study was conducted to investigate the effects of spray washing broiler carcasses with two different antimicrobial treatments. The two treatments were acidified electrolyzed water and traditional chlorine. The treatments were applied for 5, 10 or 15 seconds to chicken carcasses with a known level of bacteria. Carcasses treated with electrolyzed water had slightly lower levels of total aerobic bacteria (0.3 log10 cfu/mL) and E. coli (0.2 log10 cfu/mL) than those treated with chlorine; however, populations of Campylobacter and Salmonella were comparable after washing in either solution. Increasing the carcass washing time from 5 to 10 seconds significantly reduced the levels of bacteria, but no further microbiological reductions occurred when washing time was extended from 10 to 15 s. Data from the present study show that washing poultry carcasses with acidified electrolyzed water is slightly better or equivalent to washing with traditional chlorine. Washing broiler carcasses for a period of time equivalent to two inside-outside birds washers (10 seconds) provided greater reductions in carcass bacteria populations than time periods simulating one (5 second) or three bird washers (15 s).

Technical Abstract: