A Combination of Chemical and Ultrasonication Treatments to Reduce Campylobacter jejuni on Raw Poultry

Cost-effective and acceptable decontamination technologies that can be readily applied to the broiler-processing industry have been proposed as a strategy to reduce pathogenic organisms on carcasses and improve food safety. The objective of this study was to determine the potential of combining chemical and ultrasonication processes to reduce Campylobacter, total viable counts (TVCs) and total Enterobacteriaceae counts (TECs) on broiler carcasses. Drumsticks were inoculated with Campylobacter jejuni and immersed in 12 % (w/v) trisodium phosphate (TSP), 2 % (w/v) citric acid (CA) or 5 % (w/v) capric acid sodium salt (CP) solutions for 1 min, while ultrasonication was performed at 40, 60 or 80 kHz. In addition, chemicals were administered in sequential combination (TSP + CA, TSP + CP or CA + CP) while ultrasonication was performed at the frequencies mentioned. The sequential treatment of TSP and CP with ultrasonication at 80 kHz achieved the greatest reductions for C. jejuni (4.5–4.6 log10 colony forming units (CFU)/cm2) and TVC (1.9 log10 CFU/cm2). Enterobacteriaceae were susceptible to the sequential application of CA and CP and ultrasonication at 80 kHz (2 log10 CFU/cm2). This study demonstrated that combining chemical decontaminants with ultrasonication can significantly (p < 0.05) enhance reductions in bacterial populations compared to chemical treatments applied alone.