MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF COOKED CHICKEN BREASTS CONTAINING COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE SHELF-LIFE EXTENDERS

Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of various shelf-li fe extenders on the aerobic plate counts (APC) of cooked chicken breas t meat stored at refrigeration temperatures. Fresh chicken breast meat obtained from local grocers was injected with either 0.5, 1, 1.5, or 2% sodium lactate; 0.63, 1.25, 1.88, or 2.51 g/kg of a liquid smoke fl avoring; 0.33, 0.66, 1, or 1.33% Per/Lac(R) 1901, a fermented whey pro duct; or 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, or 1% Alta(R) 2341, a fermented corn syrup p roduct. The samples were cooked at 85 C dry bulb, 77.8 C wet bulb to a n internal temperature of 76.7 C. The cooked chicken breasts were cut into 20-g samples and aseptically placed into Ziploc(R) bags. Initial APC were enumerated following 2-d incubation at 30 C. Additional store d samples (2 C) were subsequently evaluated for APC every week for 5 w k. Only one of the four ingredients, Alta(R) 2341, significantly exten ded cooked breast meat shelf-life over that of the controls. Using Alt a(R) 2341 would be beneficial in extending the refrigerated shelf-life of cooked chicken breast meat up to 5 wk.