Challenges and options for enhancing Salmonella control in partially cooked breaded poultry products

There has been an increased incidence of foodborne illness cases associated with partially cooked breaded poultry contaminated with hypervirulent Salmonella Enteritidis. The increased incidence have been primarily caused by undercooking and hence initiatives to date have focused on ensuring labeling clearly states that the product is raw. A more effective approach is to reduce carriage of Salmonella associated with breaded poultry products. Interventions that have included biological, chemical and physical interventions have demonstrated potential. Physical treatments based on high pressure processing are effective but commercially unfeasible. A more promising approach is inclusion of essential oils or organic acids in product formulations that sensitizes Salmonella to thermal inactivation during the browning and cooking step along with reducing persistence during frozen storage.