Decontamination treatments for psychrotrophic microorganisms on chicken meat during storage at different temperatures

The antimicrobial effectiveness of five chemical decontaminants (12 % trisodium phosphate [TSP], 1,200 ppm acidified sodium chlorite [ASC], 2 % citric acid [CA], 220 ppm of peroxyacids [PA], or 50 ppm of chlorine dioxide [CD]) against psychrotrophic populations on skinned chicken legs was assessed throughout 120 h of storage under various temperature abuse scenarios. Three different simulated cold chain disruptions were used: T1 (12 h at 1 ± 1 °C, 6 h at 15 ± 1 °C, and 102 h at 4 ± 1 °C), T2 (18 h at 1 ± 1 °C, 6 h at 15 ± 1 °C, and 96 h at 10 ± 1 °C), or T3 (18 h at 4 ± 1 °C, 6 h at 20 ± 1 °C, and 96 h at 7 ± 1 °C). Microbiological analyses were carried out at 0, 24, 72, and 120 h of storage. Substantial microbial reductions, with respect to control (untreated) samples, were obtained in legs treated with TSP, ASC, and CA, with average values ranging from 1.54 ± 1.52 to 2.02 ± 2.19 log CFU/cm(2). TSP was the most effective compound under mild abuse temperature conditions (T1), with mean reductions of 2.01 ± 1.67 log CFU/cm(2), whereas ASC, followed by CA, proved to be particularly useful under moderate abuse conditions (T3; average reductions of 2.99 ± 2.27 and 1.98 ± 1.65 log CFU/cm(2), respectively). Treatment with PA or CD resulted in minimal microbial reductions.