Reduction of Salmonella in skinless chicken breast fillets by lauric arginate surface application

Lauric arginate (LAE) has been found to be effective against various foodborne pathogens. In this study, the antimicrobial efficacy of LAE against Salmonella and mesophilic organisms was evaluated in fresh, skinless, boneless, uncooked chicken breast fillets. The effect of LAE treatments on pH and color of breast fillets was also assessed. Chicken breast fillets were inoculated with a 4-strain Salmonella cocktail (Salmonella Enteritidis ATCC 4931, Salmonella Heidelberg ATCC 8326, Salmonella Kentucky ATCC 9263, and Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028) and then treated with sterile dionized water (positive control) and 200 ppm and 400 ppm of LAE. The chicken breast fillets were stored at 4 ± 1°C and analyzed on d 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 for Salmonella, total aerobes, color, and pH. The fillets destined for color analysis were not inoculated with Salmonella cocktail and stored under conditions simulating the retail display. The fillets treated with 400 ppm LAE had lower (P < 0.05) Salmonella counts compared with the positive control from d 0 through d 7 of storage except on d 3, when no effect of LAE was observed. Treating fillets with 200 ppm of LAE caused a significant reduction in Salmonella counts (P < 0.1) on d 0, 1, and 7. Reductions in Salmonella spp. were 0.7 log cfu/g and 0.7 to 1.0 log cfu/g for 200 and 400 ppm treatments, respectively. Lauric arginate did not exhibit any treatment effect on the growth of mesophilic microorganisms, pH, and color of chicken breast fillets (P > 0.05) when applied at 200 and 400 ppm concentrations. These results indicate that surface application of LAE in chicken breast fillets significantly reduces Salmonella during refrigerated aerobic storage without negatively affecting the color of chicken breast fillets.