THE USE OF ULTRAVIOLET-RADIATION TO REDUCE SALMONELLA AND PSYCHROTROPHIC BACTERIAL-CONTAMINATION ON POULTRY CARCASSES

Broiler carcasses were subjected to ultraviolet (UV) energy (doses ran ge from 82,560 to 86,400 muWS/CM2) at wavelength of 253.7 nm to evalua te the potential of this treatment for improving the microbiological q uality of broiler carcasses. Broiler chicken halves were inoculated wi th a marker strain of Salmonella typhimurium 5 min prior to treatment. A 61% reduction in viable S. typhimurium was observed in UV-treated c hicken halves as compared with untreated halves. The UV energy treatme nt had no deleterious effects on color (Hunter L, a(L), or b(L)) or 2- thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values. After 10 d of storage at 7 C, TBA va lues of thigh meat were 1.3 mg malonaldehyde/kg meat compared with 1.7 for controls. Psychrotrophic bacteria populations were not appreciabl y altered by UV treatment when their numbers were compared with bacter ial counts obtained from untreated chicken halves held for 10 d at 7 C . This study suggests that UV radiation can reduce Salmonella surface contamination without negatively affecting carcass color or increasing rancidity of the meat.