Hydroxyl-radical process for reducing Salmonella and Campylobacter jejuni on inoculated and naturally contaminated raw poultry parts with no change in quality metrics

The study aimed to optimize the performance of a gas phase hydroxyl radical process to inactivate Salmonella and Campylobacter jejuni associated with raw poultry meat. Chicken parts were inoculated with Salmonella or C. jejuni before passing through a hydroxyl-radical reactor operating with different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide mist (1–6 % v/v) and UV-C dose (112–546 mJ/cm 2 ) with ozone feed remaining constant. The surviving populations were enumerated and meat quality assessed. It was found that the log CFU reduction of Salmonella was limited to 1 log CFU and independent of hydrogen peroxide and UV-C dose A treatment of 1 % v/v hydrogen peroxide, 12 ppm ozone and a UV-C dose of 112 mJ/cm 2 supported a 0.73 ± 0.13 log CFU of C. jejuni and 1.08 log CFU Salmonella without negatively affecting meat quality. Hydroxyl-radical treatment of naturally contaminated samples reduced the carriage of Salmonella to 10 % when applying RT-PCR and down to 6 % with culture methods. In comparison, C. jejuni was decreased to 2 % by RT-PCR and non-detectable by culture-based testing. The treatment did not result in an extension of shelf-life. In conclusion, the gas-phase hydroxyl radical process presents an additional hurdle for reducing the carriage of Salmonella and Campylobacter on poultry meat. • Hydroxyl-radical process (HR) based on UV-C degradation of hydrogen peroxide mist and ozone gas. • HR supported 0.79 and 1.08 log CFU reduction of Salmonella and C. jejuni respectively. • HR reduced the carriage of Salmonella on naturally contaminated chicken by 10 %. • HR reduced the prevalence of C. jejuni on poultry from 12 % to 2 %. • HR treatment did not change the nutritional value or quality metrics of poultry meat.