Salmonella and Campylobacter reduction and quality characteristics of poultry carcasses treated with various antimicrobials in a post-chill immersion tank

•Chicken carcasses were treated with antimicrobials in a post-chill immersion tank.•Sensory analysis was done on chicken breast meat from each treatment.•PAA treatment showed the most effective reduction of Salmonella and Campylobacter.•We report no negative impacts on organoleptic attributes of chicken meat.

Innovations in poultry processing include implementation of antimicrobials in post-chill decontamination tanks. In this study, a total of 160 broiler carcasses were analyzed to evaluate the efficacy of five post-chill water treatments consisting of 0.004% (40 ppm) total chlorine, 0.04% (400 ppm) or 0.1% (1000 ppm) peracetic acid (PAA), and 0.1% (1000 ppm) or 0.5% (5000 ppm) lysozyme against Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. In addition, sensory analysis was performed to evaluate any associated effects of the antimicrobials on quality attributes of chicken breast meat. Treatment with 0.04% and 0.1% PAA was most effective (P ≤ 0.05) in reducing populations of Salmonella and Campylobacter as compared to the chlorine treatment at 0.004% and lysozyme treatments at 0.1% and 0.5%, as well as the water treatment and the positive control. Treatment with the various antimicrobials was not found to have negative (P ≤ 0.05) impacts on sensory attributes. Results from this study suggest that utilizing PAA as an antimicrobial in a post-chill immersion tank is an effective application for reducing Salmonella and Campylobacter on carcasses while maintaining product quality.