Summary

The problem: Campylobacter and Salmonella are two common bacterial causes of foodborne gastrointestinal disease. Chicken meat is frequently identified as a source of these bacterial pathogens. Current processing practices include several mitigation steps to reduce bacteria. Post-processing, however, residual bacteria represent risk to the consumer through improper handling and contamination of food preparation environments. 

Proposed solution: An innovative antimicrobial strategy using cold-plasma technology for chemical-free chicken meat treatment is the proposed solution to address the problem. Plasma is an ionized gas consisting of ions, free electrons, and radicals. Plasma discharged in water (plasma water) enriches water with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which also decreases pH, creating an antimicrobial environment that effectively kills bacteria. Once the RONS have reacted with organic material, they are inactivated leaving behind only pure water that can subsequently be reclaimed and reused.

Current knowledge: Initial data shows that plasma water effectively kills Campylobacter and Salmonella(Figure 1) while being non-toxic to human cells in culture. 

Research plan: This project will validate the efficacy of plasma water as a control strategy for foodborne pathogens on chicken meat and will evaluate its potential to extend product shelf-life. The project team will evaluate plasma water as an end-of-processing spray or dip treatment that would serve as a final mitigation step. Meat cuts will be obtained from commercial processing plants located in different Australian states. Reduction of Campylobacter, Salmonella, and total viable bacterial counts will be evaluated post plasma water treatment and compared with untreated controls. Meat quality post-treatment will also be evaluated.

Program

Chicken Meat

Research Organisation

The University of Adelaide