Postchill Antimicrobial Treatments To Control Salmonella, Listeria, and Campylobacter Contamination on Chicken Skin Used in Ground Chicken

Ground poultry products are frequently contaminated with foodbome pathogens. With the potential for increased regulatory scrutiny, it is important to use sufficient intervention strategies to control pathogen levels effectively. A large proportion of the bacteria introduced to ground chicken are likely to come from broiler skin, which is added to achieve target fat content and maintain product texture and taste. In this research, antimicrobials, including 50 ppm of chlorine and 1,200 ppm of peracetic acid (PAA), were applied in a postchill system to reduce the number of Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter coli inoculated on chicken skin used to formulate ground chicken. Results showed that chlorine provided no significant effect in reducing the number of pathogens in ground chicken made with treated skin compared with water treatment but that it did help decrease pathogens in postchill water. PAA was found to be an effective (P <= 0.05) antimicrobial agent, not only in reducing the number of pathogens on ground chicken, but also in postchill water. Treating chicken skin with PAA prior to inclusion in ground chicken can be an effective intervention strategy to lessen contamination in a ground chicken meat product.