Efficacy of peroxy acetic acid in reducing Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. populations on chicken breast fillets

Abstract

Poultry processors use antimicrobials to reduce the risk of pathogens on poultry and poultry products. The efficacy of selective and nonselective plating media to enumerate injured Salmonella (selective media—brilliant green sulfa agar and Petrifilm Enterobacteriaceae Plate Count; nonselective media—tryptic soy agar and Petrifilm Aerobic Plate Count) and Campylobacter (selective medium–Campy cefex agar and nonselective medium—Brucella agar) populations and the efficacy of peroxy acetic acid (PAA) to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter populations on chicken breast fillets were evaluated. All plating media for Salmonella and Campylobacter contained nalidixic acid (200 ppm) or gentamycin (200 ppm), respectively. Breast fillets were sprayed or immersed in PAA (500 ppm) for 10 min for evaluation of the plating media. Breast fillets inoculated with a mixed Salmonella and Campylobacter cocktail were sprayed (5 or 10 s) or immersed (4–30 s) in PAA (100, 400, 500, or 1,000 ppm) for evaluation of PAA efficacy. Salmonella populations were higher ( P ≤ 0.05) when plated on nonselective media compared with the selective media for the non-PAA treated fillets, although the differences in populations were low (<0.32 log CFU/mL). For both the microorganisms, populations on PAA treated (immersion or spray) fillets were similar when enumerated on nonselective or selective media within each treatment (PAA immersion or spray). Both immersion and spray applications reduced ( P ≤ 0.05) the Salmonella and Campylobacter populations compared with the control. Increasing the PAA concentration to 250, 500, and 1,000 ppm resulted in greater reductions ( P ≤ 0.05) in Salmonella and Campylobacter populations. Immersion of the inoculated breast fillets in 1,000 ppm PAA solution for 30 s resulted in Salmonella and Campylobacter population reductions of 1.92 and 1.87 log CFU/mL, respectively. Method of antimicrobial application (immersion and spray) did not affect the reductions in Salmonella and Campylobacter populations. Either immersion or spray application can be used to improve microbial safety of chicken breast fillets in a poultry processing plant.

Evaluating the efficacy of peracetic acid on Salmonella and Campylobacter on chicken wings at various pH levels

“…(2008) reported Salmonella reductions of 0.76, 1.05, and 1.29 log 10 cfu/mL after a 1-h immersion treatment with PAA at 25, 100, and 200 ppm, respectively, whereas a concentration of 200 ppm PAA was required to achieve greater (∼1.5 log 10 cfu/mL) Campylobacter reductions. Kumar et al. (2020) reported reductions in Salmonella and Campylobacter populations by 2.16 and 1.25 log 10 cfu/mL, respectively when chicken breast fillets were immersed in 500 ppm PAA for 10 s.…”

“…A cocktail of nalidixic acid–resistant Salmonella Typhimurium and a gentamicin-resistant strain of Campylobacter coli was used for the study ( Kumar et al., 2020 ). The strains were obtained from the US National Poultry Research Center, US Department of Agricultures' Agricultural Research Station, Athens, GA.…”

“…Several studies have confirmed the antimicrobial efficacy of PAA against Salmonella and Campylobacter populations for poultry and poultry parts. Kumar et al. (2020) reported 1.76 and 1.78 log 10 cfu/mL reduction in Salmonella and Campylobacter population, respectively, on inoculated chicken breast fillets when immersed in 500 ppm of PAA for 30 s. Smith et al.…”

A Review of Salmonella and Campylobacter in Broiler Meat: Emerging Challenges and Food Safety Measures

“…In the United States, the incidence of outbreaks is monitored by the Foodborne Disease Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet). In 2018, there were 25,606 foodborne illness cases reported with 9084 being caused by Salmonella [48]. Salmonellosis is rarely fatal; however, it can lead to severe gastrointestinal upset, hospitalization, and irritable bowel syndrome [49].…”

“…In recent years, one of the most commonly used antimicrobials is peracetic acid (PAA). It has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is regarded as a processing aid by the USDA-FSIS [48]. It can be applied as a spray, dip, or rinse in chilling tanks.…”