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Title: EFFECT OF FREEZING ON THE SURVIVAL OF COLD-STRESSED CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI IN GROUND CHICKEN AND CHICKEN SKIN

Author
item Bhaduri, Saumya

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/8/2003
Publication Date: 8/12/2003
Citation: BHADURI, S. EFFECT OF FREEZING ON THE SURVIVAL OF COLD-STRESSED CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI IN GROUND CHICKEN AND CHICKEN SKIN. MEETING ABSTRACT. 2003.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial enteritis in humans in the United States. Foods of animal origin, mainly poultry and poultry products, are associated with C. jejuni infection. While C. jejuni is prevalent in chickens, relatively little is known on the ability of this organism to adapt to environmental conditions, such as cold stress, relevant to poultry and poultry products. Therefore, the effect of cold stress on the survival of C. jejuni was examined. Ten-g portions of ground chicken and chicken skin were irradiated and artificially contaminated with 108 CFU/g of a cocktail of three strains of C. jejuni. The samples were held at 4oC for 0, 1, 3, and 7 d followed by freezing at -20oC for 0, 1, 3, 7, and 14 d. At the various time intervals, samples were removed from the freezer, 90 ml of 0.1% peptone water was added, and the samples were pummeled in a Stomacher Lab Blender for 2 min. Serial dilutions of the samples were surface plated onto modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar (CCDA) and tryptic soy agar (TSAB) with 5% sheep blood to enumerate surviving C. jejuni. The CCDA and TSAB plates were incubated in sealed jars under microaerobic conditions generated by CamyPak Plus gas generators for 48 h at 42oC. The decline of C. jejuni ranged from 1.4 to 3.1 log10 CFU/g on chicken skin and 0.6 to 1.3 log10 CFU/g in ground chicken after exposure at -20oC from 1 to 14 d. Thus, there was greater survival in ground chicken compared to in chicken skin. Refrigeration storage produced a maximum reduction of 0.6 log10 CFU/g in chicken skin and ground chicken after 7 days of exposure. This research furthers the understanding of the factors affecting the survival of Campylobacter exposed to cold stress in foods.