Use of oleic acid to reduce the population of the bacterial flora of poultry skin

The effect of oleic acid on native bacterial flora of poultry skin was exam ined. Skin from commercial broiler carcasses was washed once or twice in so lutions of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10% (wt/vol) oleic acid and rinsed in peptone water. Aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Campylobacter, and enterococci in the rinsates were enumerated. Significantly fewer aerobic bacteria, Ent erobacteriaceae, Campylobacter, and enterococci were recovered from rinsate s of skin washed in oleic acid than from control samples. Additionally, few er bacteria were recovered from rinsates of skin washed in higher concentra tions of oleic acid than from skin washed in lower concentrations of the fa tty acid. in most cases, there was no significant difference in the number of bacteria recovered from rinsates of skin washed once or twice in solutio ns of oleic acid. Washing skin samples twice in 10% solutions of oleic acid significantly reduced the number of aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Campylobacter, and enterococci that remained attached to the skin. Campylob ncfer sp., Enterococcus faecalis, and Listeria monocytogenes isolates posse ssed the least resistance to the antibacterial activity of oleic acid in vi tro, while Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed higher resist ance. Enterobacter cloacae, Staphylococcus lentus, and Salmonella Typhimuri um had the greatest resistance to the antibacterial activity of oleic acid. Findings indicate that oleic acid reduces the number of bacteria on the sk in of processed broilers and that the fatty acid is bactericidal to several spoilage and pathogenic bacteria associated with poultry.