title: Thermal resistance of Salmonella serovars isolated from raw, frozen chicken nuggets/strips, nugget meat and pelleted broiler feed.
abstract: Raw, frozen chicken nuggets/strips available at retail and prepared at home before consumption have been identified as a significant risk factor in contracting food-borne salmonellosis. Cases of salmonellosis from consumption of these products may be due, in part, to Salmonella strains originating in broiler feed. In this study the thermal resistances of Salmonella strains isolated from chicken nuggets and strips, chicken nugget/strip meat and broiler feed were determined to assess whether they exhibited enhanced thermal resistance. Thermal resistances (D- and z- values) of 7 cocktails (25 isolates, 4 serovars) were determined in commercially prepared irradiation-treated chicken nugget/strip meat blend, and heated in a constant temperature waterbath. The thermal resistances found were lower than those reported for similar strains in the literature. D-values ranged from 6.93 to 0.12 min at 55 and 62 degrees C respectively, with z-values from 4.10 to 5.17 degrees C. Two strains of S. Enteritidis separately isolated from pelleted feed and chicken nugget meat blend, with indistinguishable geno- and phenotypes, had lower (and probably identical) thermal resistances than the other isolates. Results indicated that the strains of Salmonella isolated from raw, frozen chicken nuggets/strips and pelleted broiler feed did not exhibit unusually high thermal resistance, and that normal heating (71 degrees C) prior to consumption should eliminate these organisms from chicken nuggets/strips.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bucher
authors.forename: J-Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: D'Aoust
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Holley
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005628:Frozen Foods / Q000382:microbiology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D011202:Poultry Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012478:Salmonella Food Poisoning / Q000517:prevention & control