Title:
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Technologies and systems to control Campylobacter and reduce the microflora on poultry products
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Campylobacter is the most frequent cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in Ireland and
the EU. In Ireland, over 98% of broilers are contaminated with Campylobacter. The
objectives of this study were to investigate (I) the efficiency of slaughtering plant
level cloacal treatments as a Campylobacter control technology; (2) the impact of
dipping/spraying treatments in reducing Campylobacter on fresh and stored poultry
carcasses, and to assess related sensory effects; (3) the impact of available chemicals,
and application methods on the natural microflora of poultry carcasses; (4) the impact
of 7 modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) gas mixtures on Campylobacter, the
natural microflora of fresh and stored chicken fillets, and related sensory effects; and
(5) the impact of "cook in the pack" and "freezing" technologies in reducing cross contamination
in the domestic kitchen.
The most effective cloacal treatment was 5% lactic acid (v/v), reducing
Campylobacter numbers by 0.66 log CFU cm-2
• The two most effective chemical
dipping and spraying methods were 14% (w/v) tri-sodium phosphate and 5% (w/v)
citric acid, which reduced Campylobacter by 2.49 and 1.44 log CFU cm-2
respectively. The study established that a MAP mixture of 40:30:30% CO2:N2:02,
resulted in a 1.17 loglo CPU per gram Campylobacter reduction and significant (x3)
extension of product shelf-life. The study established that cook-in-the-bag technology
can significantly reduce cross contamination, while freezing can significantly reduce
Campylobacter numbers.
In conclusion, the technologies developed and validated in this project offer a suite of
control measures to reduce Campylobacter levels within the human population.
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