THE EFFECTS OF EXTENDED CHILLING TIMES WITH ACETIC-ACID ON THE TEMPERATURE AND MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF PROCESSED POULTRY CARCASSES

The effects of extended chill times with and without .6% acetic acid a nd agitation on the microbiological quality of broiler carcasses were determined. Carcasses were chilled for either 1, 2, or 3 h using the f ollowing treatments: 1) paddle chiller without acid (C); 2) static ice slush with .6% acetic acid (S); 3) static ice slush with air agitatio n and .6% acetic acid (SA); and 4) a paddle type chiller with .6% acet ic acid (P). Whole carcass rinse samples were taken at 1, 2, and 3 h ( two per time per treatment) and evaluated for total aerobes and Entero bacteriaceae and at 1 and 2 h for Salmonella incidence. Six replicatio ns of 24 carcasses per replication were used for the standard microbio logical evaluations and five runs of 24 carcasses per run were used fo r the determination of Salmonella incidence. Total aerobes were reduce d (P less-than-or-equal-to .05) by .34, .62, and 1.16 log10 most proba ble number/mL for the S, SA, and P treatments, respectively, when comp ared with the controls. Enterobacteriaceae counts were reduced (P less -than-or-equal-to .05) by .50, .71, and 1.4 log10 for the S, SA, and t he P treatments, respectively. Salmonella incidence, from inoculated c arcasses, after 1 h were 87% for the C carcasses, 80% for the S treatm ent, 53% for the SA treatment, and 6.7% for the P treatment.