A postbiotic-aerated water strategy for controlling Salmonella Enteritidis on chicken skin during chilling and refrigerated storage

Control of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) during poultry processing remains a persistent food safety challenge, particularly due to pathogen survival during chilling and subsequent storage. This study evaluated the antimicrobial performance of aerated water (AW) combined with postbiotics derived from Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus NRRL-B-442 (LR) and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei DUP-13076 (LP) for reducing SE on chicken skin during simulated carcass chilling and refrigerated storage. Chicken skin inoculated with approximately 3.8 log CFU/in² SE was subjected to 5- or 10-min dip treatments in tap water, MRS broth, AW, postbiotics in tap water, postbiotics in AW, or peracetic acid (PAA; 0.05 %). SE populations were quantified on skin and in spent dip solutions immediately after treatment and over 7 days of storage. AW alone produced moderate reductions (≤0.9 log), whereas LR-AW and LP-AW achieved >1.5 log reductions after 10 min and reduced SE in spent solutions to below detection limits. During storage, SE populations in AW- and PAA-treated samples rebounded, reaching ≥4.1 log CFU/in² by day 7. In contrast, LR-AW and LP-AW prevented detectable SE recovery after day 3. Skin color, homogenate pH, and lipid oxidation remained within acceptable limits, with malondialdehyde values below rancidity thresholds. Overall, these results indicate that combining AW with postbiotics enhances both the magnitude and persistence of SE control while maintaining chicken skin quality, supporting further evaluation of this approach for poultry processing.