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Title: Chill water additive controls transfer of Salmonella and Campylobacter by improved chlorine efficacy

Author
item Schambach, Bradley
item Berrang, Mark
item HARRISON, MARK - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: International Poultry Scientific Forum
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/17/2012
Publication Date: 1/28/2013
Citation: Schambach, B.T., Berrang, M.E., Harrison, M. 2013. Chill water additive controls transfer of Salmonella and Campylobacter by improved chlorine efficacy. International Poultry Scientific Forum. January 28-29, 2013. Atlanta, Georgia. P.17.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In earlier work, we showed that a proprietary additive (T-128) maintains chlorine activity in the presence of organic material such as broiler parts. T-128 improves the efficacy of chlorine to control transfer of Campylobacter and Salmonella from inoculated wings to un-inoculated wings during immersion chilling. However, T-128 causes a substantial drop in pH, and it is unclear if the beneficial effect is simply due to the enhanced acidic conditions. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of T-128 to its acid component (phosphoric acid, H3PO4) to lower numbers of Salmonella and Campylobacter transferred in chill water. To test this, four containers were prepared each containing two broiler wings, water, and ice in a weight to weight ratio of 1:2:4 chicken meat to water to ice. One of the two wings was inoculated with approximately 106 cells each of an antibiotic resistant strain of Salmonella and Campylobacter; the second wing was left un-inoculated. Containers were assigned to each of two treatments, as follows: a combination of 50ppm chlorine and 0.5% T-128 by volume, and a combination of 50ppm chlorine and 0.01% H3PO4 by volume. Both treatments resulted in initial water pH of 3.5. All containers were covered and shaken at 130 rpm for forty-five minutes. After the 45-minute chill treatment, pH of T-128 solution averaged 6.04 with a free chlorine level of 10 ppm. The H3PO4 solution however, had a mean pH of 5.86 with a free chlorine level less than 0.10 ppm. Each wing was rinsed in 30 mL of PBS. Antibiotic resistant marked Salmonella and Campylobacter were enumerated per mL of rinse solution by plating on BG-Sulfa agar with the addition of nalidixic acid and Campy-Cefex agar with the addition of gentamicin, respectively. Following chill treatment, no statistically significant difference in the number of Salmonella was detected per mL of chill water; however, T-128 treatment resulted in significantly (P < 0.01) fewer Campylobacter per mL of chill water. T-128 treatment also resulted in significantly (P < 0.01) fewer Salmonella and Campylobacter detected from un-inoculated wings than the acid only treatment. These data suggest that T-128 used in conjunction with chlorine has the ability to control cross contamination of poultry carcasses with human pathogens during immersion chilling by a greater chemical interaction than simply solution pH reduction.