Abstract
The currently most utilized antimicrobial agent in poultry processing facilities is peracetic acid, a chemical increasingly recognized as hazardous to human health. We evaluated the efficacy of mixtures of natural antimicrobial compounds, namely reuterin, microcin J25, and lactic acid, for reducing the viability of Salmonella enterica and total aerobes on broiler chicken carcasses. The compounds were compared singly and in combination with water and 0.1% peracetic acid. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of reuterin, lactic acid, and microcin J25 against S. enterica serovar Enteritidis were respectively 2 mM, 0.31%, and 0.03 μM. In vitro, the combinations of reuterin + lactic acid and reuterin + microcin J25 were synergic, making these compounds effective at four times lower concentrations than those used alone. Salmonella viable counts fell to zero within 10 min of contact with reuterin + lactic acid at 10 times the concentrations used in combination, compared to 18 h in the case of reuterin + microcin J25. Sprayed onto chilled chicken carcasses, this reuterin + lactic acid mixture reduced Salmonella spp. counts by 2.02 Log CFU/g, whereas reuterin + microcin J25 and peracetic acid reduced them by respectively 0.83 and 1.13 Log CFU/g. The synergy of reuterin with lactic acid or microcin J25 as inhibitors of bacterial growth was significant. Applied as post-chill spray, these mixtures could contribute to food safety by decreasing Salmonella counts on chicken carcasses.
Highlights
Nontyphoidal serovars of Salmonella enterica, commonly associated with poultry, pose a wellknown health risk
Reuterin and microcin J25 purity was evaluated by High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and anti-Salmonella activity was confirmed by the agar diffusion test (Figure 1)
Since no synergetic effect (FICI = 1) was observed for microcin J25 + lactic acid, this formula was not considered in this study
Summary
Nontyphoidal serovars of Salmonella enterica, commonly associated with poultry, pose a wellknown health risk. As foodborne pathogens, they cause much hospitalization, sometimes with fatal outcome. About 35% of foodborne illnesses traceable to poultry are due to S. enterica at a social cost of about $700 million annually (Morris et al, 2011). The prevalence of Salmonella on processed poultry meat has been estimated at 20–43% (Scheinberg et al, 2013; Trimble et al, 2013). According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (2018), all the holders of licenses to produce poultry for distribution are expected to have control strategies in place to eliminate microbial pathogens or prevent them from reaching dangerous levels.
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