Salmonella inactivation and changes on texture and color of chicken skin treated with antimicrobials and ultrasound

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of antimicrobials and ultrasound (US) on the skin of chicken contaminated with Salmonella enterica. Firstly, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were determined for the antimicrobials against five strains belonging to different serovars of Salmonella or as a cocktail. Chicken skins were then artificially contaminated with Salmonella and treated with 0.07% and 0.14% peracetic acid (PAA) alone or in combination with the following antimicrobials: 3% lactic acid (LA), 3% citric acid (CA), 1% phosphoric acid (PA) and 2% sodium bisulfate (SBS) for 15 s, 5 and 30 min. Treated chicken skins showing better microbial reductions were analyzed for texture and color changes. All antimicrobial treatment combinations reduced more than 2.0 log10 CFU/g of Salmonella. There was no synergistic effect (p > 0.05) between US and antimicrobials. The treatment 0.14% PAA + 2% SBS reduced 2.8 log10 CFU/g of Salmonella. However, the skin color has changed, which is not desirable in industrial processing. Thus, the best treatment for reducing Salmonella on chicken skin without texture and color-changing was 0.07% PAA during 15 s.