Survival of Salmonella infantis and Staphylococcus aureus on smoked broiler halves

Effects of storage at 5 ad -18 C for up to 28 days and high and low inoculation levels on survival of Salmonella infantis and Staphylococcus aureus on smoked broiler halves were investigated. S. infantis and Staph. aureus counts were significantly reduced during storage. The reduction in counts of S. infantis could not be attributed solely to either temperature or inoculation levels. Storage at 5 C significantly (P less than .05) reduced Staph. aureus counts on smoked broiler halves as compared to storage at -18 C. For Staph. aureus, low inoculation levels (10(3) to 10(4) organisms/ml) resulted in significantly higher mortality rates than did high inoculation levels (10(7) to 10(8) organisms/ml). At both storage conditions and inoculation levels, Staph. aureus was able to maintain higher populations than S. infantis.