Comparison of peroxyacetic acid and acidified sodium chlorite at reducing natural microbial contamination on chicken meat pieces

The spin-chill process at poultry proc-essing plants involves the immersion of chicken car-casses in cold water (<5degree celsius) often containing sodium hypochlorite which significantly contributes to the reduction of bacterial loads. Cutting carcasses into pieces, however, has been linked with increases in Cam-pylobacter and Salmonella counts. Here, the efficacy of PAA and ASC on reducing bacteria on skin-on, bone-in thigh cuts was investigated. Three concentrations of ASC (60, 112, and 225 ppm) and PAA (50, 75, 100 ppm) were used. Thighs were dipped into sanitizer and tested for total viable bacterial counts, Campylobacter load, and prevalence of Salmonella. The efficacy of PAA and ASC was also compared with chlorine (8 ppm). All sanitizers exhibited a greater log reduction compared with water. PAA at both 75 and 100 ppm resulted in significantly higher log reductions compared with the water only. PAA at 100 ppm and 225 ppm ASC were the most effective at reducing Campylobac-ter. All wash treatments reduced the proportion of Sal-monella positive samples, but the greatest reduction was observed for 225 ppm ASC. Both concentrations of ASC resulted in a greater reduction in total viable counts compared with chlorine.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of cutting chicken carcasses on bacterial counts and the efficacy of PAA and ASC in reducing bacteria. The results showed that both sanitizers were effective in reducing bacterial loads.