Salmonella and Total Count Reduction in Poultry Treated with Sodium Hypochlorite Solutions

Abstract

LOW LEVELS of chlorination have been effective in reducing the number of microorganisms present in water, on equipment surfaces, and in many food products. Goresline et al. (1951) reported that 10 p.p.m. chlorine added to the final wash of poultry carcasses reduced the bacterial counts by 78% and that 20 p.p.m. increased the effectiveness to 90%. Miller (1953), using 20 p.p.m., Ziegler and Stadelman (1955), using 10 and 20 p.p.m., and Dawson et al. (1956), using 20 and 40 p.p.m. chlorine solutions, found that shelf life of poultry increased when cooled in the respective solutions. Thomson et al. (1967) showed a reduction in numbers of Salmonella typhimurium from log 1.67 to 1.53 with a five minute holding period after spraying with a solution containing 20 p.p.m. chlorine, and a reduction from log 1.06 to 1.03 with a thirty minute holding period. The use of 100 p.p.m. and 200 p.p.m. chlorine . . .