Assessment and improvement of hygienic status of chicken fillet from slaughterhouses using organic acids from natural sources

الملخص EN

This study was conducted firstly to investigate the bacteriological status of chicken fillet produced in poultry slaughterhouses and secondly to improve its safety at the home level during preparation for cooking using vinegar or lemon juice as a natural source for organic acids.

Sixty samples of chicken fillet, (30 each of breast and thigh) were collected from slaughterhouses.

Mean aerobic plate and coliforms counts for thigh samples (4.41 and 1.83 log cfu/g) were significantly higher (P<0.01) than that of breast samples (3.89 and 1.42 log cfu/g).

Each of Salmonella Typhimurium and S.

aureus were isolated from 3.3% of samples, meanwhile, E.

coli was detected in 30% and 10% of thigh and breast samples, respectively.

Accordingly, 36.7% and 80.0% of thigh and breast samples, respectively were compatible with the Egyptian standards.

Dipping of chicken fillet in vinegar or lemon juice (2% acetic or citric acids) for 25 min reduced the aerobic plate count by one log cfu/g and S.

aureus by 2 log cfu/g without significance difference (P>0.05) between them.

On the other hand, lemon juice significantly reduced salmonella (2 log cfu/g) and E.

coli (3 log cfu/g) counts one log more than vinegar (1 and 2 log cfu/g for each of them, respectively).