Thermal inactivation of Salmonella spp. and Listeria innocua in the chicken breast patties processed in a pilot-scale air-convection oven

Salmonella spp. or Listeria innocua containing chicken patties were process ed via a pilot-scale air-convection oven to a final temperature of 55 to 80 degreesC. Thermal processing was conducted at an air temperature of 149 de greesC, an air velocity of 7.1 to 12.7 m(3)/min, and a wet bulb temperature of 39 to 98 degreesC. The cooking time was correlated with cooking conditi ons using a standardized least square regression model. The models were dev eloped to correlate cooking time and the thermal inactivation of Salmonella or Listeria with cooking conditions. The thermal lethality of Salmonella a nd Listeria increased with increasing product temperature and wet bulb temp erature. This study bridged the gap between laboratory studies and commerci al applications and will help commercial processors to evaluate and validat e their thermal processes.