Salmonella and Campylobacter reduction and quality characteristics of poultry carcasses treated with various antimicrobials in a post-chill immersion tank

Innovations in poultry processing include implementation of antimicrobials in post-chill decontamination tanks. In this study, a total of 160 broiler carcasses were analyzed to evaluate the efficacy of five post-chill water treatments consisting of 0.004% (40. ppm) total chlorine, 0.04% (400. ppm) or 0.1% (1000. ppm) peracetic acid (PAA), and 0.1% (1000. ppm) or 0.5% (5000. ppm) lysozyme against Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. In addition, sensory analysis was performed to evaluate any associated effects of the antimicrobials on quality attributes of chicken breast meat. Treatment with 0.04% and 0.1% PAA was most effective (P. ≤. 0.05) in reducing populations of Salmonella and Campylobacter as compared to the chlorine treatment at 0.004% and lysozyme treatments at 0.1% and 0.5%, as well as the water treatment and the positive control. Treatment with the various antimicrobials was not found to have negative (P. ≤. 0.05) impacts on sensory attributes. Results from this study suggest that utilizing PAA as an antimicrobial in a post-chill immersion tank is an effective application for reducing Salmonella and Campylobacter on carcasses while maintaining product quality.