Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Microbial and Chemical Food Safety » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #338582

Research Project: Data Acquisition, Development of Predictive Models for Food Safety and their Associated Use in International Pathogen Modeling and Microbial Databases

Location: Microbial and Chemical Food Safety

Title: Thermal inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in sous-vide processed marinated chicken breast

Author
item KARYOTIS, DIMITRIOS - Agricultural University Of Athens
item SKANDAMIS, PANAGIOTIS - Agricultural University Of Athens
item Juneja, Vijay

Submitted to: Food Research International
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/31/2017
Publication Date: 8/14/2017
Citation: Karyotis, D., Skandamis, P.N., Juneja, V.K. 2017. Thermal inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in sous-vide processed marinated chicken breast. Food Research International. 100:894-898.

Interpretive Summary: Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes continue to be deadly foodborne pathogens of significant public health concern since documentation of their association with several outbreaks of foodborne illness. Undercooked chicken products are commonly implicated as transmission vehicles in these outbreaks. Therefore, there is a need to determine time and temperature required to destroy the pathogens in chicken in order to provide an adequate degree of protection against survival of these pathogens. We determined that a heat treatment at 55C for 385 min was reduced to 270 min to kill more than one million bacteria when chicken was marinated prior to cooking. We developed a predictive model for estimating heat treatment required for destruction of these pathogens in marinated chicken. This information will be of immediate use to the consumers and to the food industry and regulatory agencies to ensure the safety of ready-to-eat chicken.

Technical Abstract: The heat resistance of a cocktail of five Salmonella strains and five L. monocytogenes strains was determined in teriyaki-marinated chicken breasts. Inoculated meat, packaged in bags, were completely immersed in a circulating water bath and cooked to a final temperature of 55, 57.5 or 60C in one hour, and then held for predetermined times. The surviving Salmonella and L. monocytogenes cells were enumerated by surface plating on XLD agar and Palcam agar, respectively. D-values, determined by linear regression, of Salmonella in chicken breast ranged from 47.65 min at 55C to 7.48 at 60C; the values for L. monocytogenes ranged from 53.50 min at 55C to 10.39 min at 60C. Marination rendered the pathogen more sensitive to the lethal effect of heat. The results of this study will assist the food industry in ensuring microbiological safety of sous-vide processed marinated chicken breasts.