Construction of a tertiary model and uncertainty analysis for the effect of time, temperature, available chlorine concentration of slightly acidic electrolyzed water on salmonella enteritidis and background total bacteria counts on chicken

This study aimed to investigate the combined effects of storage time, temperature, and available chlorine concentration (ACC) of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) on Salmonella Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) and total viable background counts (TVC) on chicken meat surfaces. Models were validated with high accuracy (adj-R 2 > 0.95; RMSE < 0.20), and sensitivity analysis showed significant effects of time, temperature, and ACC on bacterial growth ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, temperature notably reduced the proportion of S. Enteritidis within TVC from 55% to 33% at lower temperatures ( P < 0.05), while ACC significantly affected maximum bacterial growth (a), growth rate (k) ( P < 0.05), and turning points in the growth curve (x c ) parameters of models. Furthermore, temperature and ACC interactions synergistically influenced growth rate (k) and turning point (x c ) parameters. Monte Carlo simulation supported the models' predictive capability in estimating S. Enteritidis distribution on chicken meat surfaces under varied conditions. The results from this study contribute to microbial risk assessments of S. Enteritidis in the chicken. • Built growth model using time, temperature, and SAEW for S. Enteritidis and TVC. • Temperature impacted S. Enteritidis more than TVC, altering its proportionality. • Found ACC, temperature, and their interaction had linear effects on parameters. • Proposed model to assess S. Enteritidis microbial risks on chicken.