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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #353686
Research Project: Antibiotic Alternatives for Controlling Foodborne Pathogens and Disease in Poultry

Location: Poultry Production and Product Safety Research

Title: Efficacy of Peracetic acid and Zinc in reducing Campylobacter jejuni on chicken skin

Author
item SHRESTHA, SANDIP - University Of Arkansas
item WAGLE, BASANTA - University Of Arkansas
item UPADHYAY, ABHINAV - University Of Arkansas
item ARSI, KOMALA - University Of Arkansas
item UPADHYAYA, INDU - University Of Arkansas
item Donoghue, Ann - Annie
item DONOGHUE, DAN - University Of Arkansas

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/14/2018
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of bacterial foodborne disease in humans worldwide, largely associated with the consumption of contaminated poultry products. With increasing consumer demand for natural and minimally processed foods, the use of Generally Recognized as Safe status antimicrobials is gaining attention for improving safety of poultry products. Peracetic acid (PAA; 220 ppm) is extensively used as an antimicrobial treatment in the U.S. commercial poultry. However, approved dose of PAA produces inconsistent/low pathogen reductions. Metal ions have been used as effective antimicrobials for centuries. Zinc (Zn) is a GRAS status metal used in meat, fish packaging to prevent microbial spoilage. However, the efficacy of Zn for poultry carcass disinfection has not been investigated. The present study evaluated the efficacy of PAA either alone or in combination with Zn (ZnSO4.H2O) as an antimicrobial dip treatment in simulated chiller for reducing C. jejuni and Pseudomonas spp. (an important meat spoilage bacteria) on chicken skin. Two replicate trials were conducted. In each trial, 130 skin samples (4 cm ' 4 cm each) were randomly divided into 13 treatments including baseline (inoculated samples but not subjected to dip treatments), PAA (0, 55, 110 or 220 ppm), Zn (0, 62.5 or 125 ppm) or combinations. Each skin was inoculated with a cocktail of four wild strains of C. jejuni (~ 7.4 log CFU/skin). Following 30 minutes of attachment, the samples were pre-chilled (150C, 15 min) followed by 1.5 h of dipping in aforementioned treatments at 40C (chilling simulation). Treated skins were drip dried (2 min) and sampled at 0 and 24 h of refrigerated storage for C. jejuni and Pseudomonas spp. counts (n=5 skin/treatment/time point). The data were analyzed by ANOVA using MIXED procedure of SAS 9.3 and expressed as LSMEANS with differences considered significant at P < 0.05. Bacterial counts recovered from control was ~ 6 log CFU/sample for C. jejuni and ~ 4 log CFU/sample for Pseudomonas spp. The highest dose of PAA (220 ppm) reduced counts by ~ 0.5 - 1 log CFU/sample for both pathogens. Zn (125 ppm) reduced C. jejuni counts by ~ 1 – 1.5 log CFU/sample, however, no reduction was observed for Pseudomonas spp. compared with control. Select combination treatments synergistically reduced C. jejuni at 24 h of storage when compared with individual treatments. The combination of 220 ppm PAA with 125 ppm Zn was the most effective treatment and reduced C. jejuni by ~ 3.5 log CFU/sample and Pseudomonas spp. by ~ 2 log CFU/sample. Results suggest that combination of Zn and PAA could be a good strategy to control C. jejuni in post-harvest poultry.