Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Pseudomonas spp. present in spoiled poultry fillets sold in retail settings

•Pseudomonas fragi, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas lundensis were the prevalent species present at spoilage time.•Pseudomonas isolates with different enzymes demonstrated phenotypic variability.•Pseudomonas grouped into a high number of RAPD types, indicating genetic variability.•Pseudomonas associated with poultry spoilage from different samples with the same RAPD type suggests a similar origin.

The objective of this study was to characterize and compare the phenotypic and genotypic diversity of most frequent Pseudomonas associated with spoilage at 4 °C in skinless marinated poultry breast fillets. We selected four or five prevalent Pseudomonas isolated 2 days after expiration date from 11 poultry samples with different production dates. Most Pseudomonas were Pseudomonas fragi (n = 24) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (n = 14). Phenotypical tests showed that P. fluorescens had proteolytic, lipolytic and lecithinase activities while P. fragi produced mainly proteolytic enzymes. Genotypic characterization showed a high number of RAPD types (≥85% similarity); nevertheless, some isolates from different samples had similar RAPD types. 14 P. fluorescens were grouped into 13 RAPD types, 3 Pseudomonas lundensis into 2 RAPD types and 24 P. fragi into 13 RAPD types.The findings revealed a high level of phenotypic and genotypic variability between and within Pseudomonas species isolated from poultry. In addition, some strains with similar RAPD types showed intra strain variability, despite not having the same phenotypic profile.This study has illustrated biological variability of Pseudomonas microbiota present in spoiled poultry fillets. Such variability may have strong importance across individual processors and spoilage and should be considered for risk assessments and when developing HACCP plans.