Survival ofSalmonellaon refrigerated chicken carcasses and subsequent transfer to cutting board

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of refrigeration time and temperature on Salmonella cell numbers on inoculated chicken carcasses and their transfer to a plastic cutting board. Methods and Results: The survival of Salmonella on chicken skin and the transfer to a plastic cutting board when exposed to different refrigeration temperatures (2, 6 or 8°C) for 9 days were the two main issues on which this work focused. Two scenarios were carried out to ascertain these effects: carcasses treated with a decontaminating acetic acid solution and untreated carcasses. All of the contaminated carcasses remained contaminated after 9 days of refrigeration. However, on untreated samples, while Salmonella numbers increased almost 1·5 log at 8°C, the pathogen numbers decreased about 1 log at 2 and 6°C. On acid‐treated samples, cell numbers slightly decreased at all of the temperatures studied. Temperature did not affect salmonellae transfer to the cutting board, but time did. Acid decontamination increased cell numbers transferred to the cutting board compared with untreated samples. Conclusion: Proper refrigeration at low temperatures did not allow Salmonella numbers to rise, regardless of which carcasses had been, or had not been, acid treated. Despite the fact that the rate of transfer was not affected by temperature, the acid treatment detached Salmonella cells from the chicken skin and, therefore, the probability of greater cross‐contamination should be studied further. Significance and Impact of the Study: The results of this study may provide better information about the refrigeration conditions for fresh chicken storage and also determine if these, along with acetic acid decontamination of broiler chicken, would affect the pathogen transfer to a cutting board.

Comparison of Sanitizing Methods for Reduction of Attached Microorganisms on Various Kitchen Cutting Boards

“…According to Jimenez et al [2009], levels of Salmonella from chicken skin to cutting boards showed approximately a 1.5 log difference, which is lower than the results of the present study (ca. 3 log difference).…”

“…Cross-contamination between cutting boards and foods during food preparation is a common factor causing food poisoning [Chiu et al, 2006;Ravishankar et al, 2010]. Although the load of this contamination and the number of cells transferred to cutting boards is low, this low transfer amount can cause a health risk through temperature abuse, high virulence, and susceptible consumers [de Boer and Hahne, 1990;Jimenez et al, 2009]. Moreover, E. coli O157:H7 can cause foodborne illness with low infection doses of <10 cells [Buchanan and Doyle, 1997].…”

Risk Factors and Control Measures for Bacterial Contamination in the Bovine Meat Chain: A Review on Salmonella and Pathogenic E.coli

“…In a study conducted in a commercial abattoir, Bolton et al (2002) reported an increase in total viable bacterial counts from 3.8 to 4.5 log cfu/cm 2 on carcasses at the refrigeration stage. Another study conducted on poultry carcasses showed that after 9 days of storage, Salmonella loads were slightly reduced (by less than 1 log unit) on carcasses refrigerated at 2 and 6°C whereas in carcasses refrigerated at 8°C Salmonella number increased by 1.5 log units (Jiménez, Tiburzi, Salsi, Moguilevsky, & Pirovani, 2009). …”

“…Various origins of microbial contamination during cutting/boning were reported in literature. These include carcasses or meat pieces to be processed (McEvoy et al, 2004); meat cutting/boning equipments such as knives, meat conveyors or cutting boards (Gill, Badoni, & McGinnis, 1999;Gill et al, 2001;Jiménez et al, 2009) and soiled surfaces or operators (Sheridan, Lynch, & Harrington, 1992). One of the measures to prevent cross contaminations resulting from contaminated carcasses or meat pieces would be to identify the most contaminated raw materials and to process them separately preferably at the end of the production (Koohmaraie et al, 2012).…”

Development of an Improved Selective and Differential Medium for Isolation of Salmonella spp

“…almonella has been associated with many food-borne diseases across the world (19). It is the cause of an estimated 1.4 million illnesses annually in the United States (25).…”