Evaluation of post-chill applications of antimicrobials against Campylobacter jejuni on poultry carcasses

Current regulatory guidelines to control poultry-borne pathogens, more specifically Campylobacter jejuni, necessitate the need for novel applications of antimicrobials during poultry processing. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of peracetic acid (PAA; 100 and 200 ppm) and sodium hypochlorite (SH; 25 and 50 ppm) as antimicrobial interventions to reduce C. jejuni on fresh poultry using 2 separate application methods (spray and immersion). Broiler carcasses were inoculated with 10 mL of C. jejuni (ca. 7 log10 CFU/mL) and allowed 30 min for bacterial attachment, followed by either a 60-s immersion or 62-s (460 mL) spray treatment with PAA and SH. Following treatment, the carcasses were rinsed and the rinsate was plated (0.25 mL) onto Campylobacter Cefex agar and incubated microaerobically at 42°C for 48 h. Immersion application significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced C. jejuni as compared to the spray application. Results also suggested that PAA as an immersion application showed the lowest survival populations (P ≤ 0.05) of C. jejuni irrespective of the application method.