Assessing chicken meat as a major contributor to household food waste: a microbiological perspective

Abstract Chicken is a popular food choice because it is nutritious and inexpensive. However, it can spoil easily making it a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Processing chicken meat contaminated with Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli , and Staphylococcus aureus can increase food waste. Therefore, the research aimed to determine the contamination level of Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli , and Staphylococcus aureus in chicken meat sold in several traditional markets in Banda Aceh City, Indonesia, and to identify sources of chicken meat that are free from these bacteria. Two traditional markets, UK and RK, were selected using simple random sampling. The samples were analyzed to determine the presence of the three pathogenic bacteria. The results showed that Staphylococcus aureus was present in samples from both markets, with the highest contamination level in the RK market, measured at 5.3 × 10 3 cfu/g. None of the chicken samples from the UK and RK traditional markets tested positive for Salmonella or E. coli .