Microbiological evaluation of retail chicken meat under various storage temperature

• Published in: Korean Journal of Veterinary Public Health Vol. 35; no. 1
• Main Authors: Chon, J.W., Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Hyeon, J.Y., Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Kim, Y.G., Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Park, J.H., Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Song, K.Y., Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Shin, R.J., Consumers union of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Kim, M.S., Seoul Metropolitan Government Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Kwon, K.S., Korea Food and Drug Administration, Cheongwon, Republic of Korea, Chung, M.S., Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Republic of Korea, Seo, K.H., Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 01.03.2011
• Subjects: Aerobic Bacteria; CHICKENS; POLLO; POULET; Storage Condition
• ISSN: 1225-1739

This study was carried out to evaluate the microbiological characteristics of retail chicken meats stored under various conditions. Nine of whole chickens and nine of chicken breasts were used for bacterial analysis. Each chicken meat was divided into subsamples of 25 g each followed by storage at room temperature (25℃), refrigeration temperature (4 ℃), and freezing temperature (-20℃) for 180 min, 5 days, and 3 days, respectively. The standard plate counts were performed for the enumeration of the total aerobic bacteria. The number of aerobic bacteria was gradually increased by 1 log in samples held at the room temperature for 180 min. There was statistical difference in the number of bacteria between at 0 min and at 180 min of storage. For samples stored at 4℃ for 5 days, the number of bacteria was increased from 5.11 to 7.26 log CFU/g in chicken breast and 3.83 to 6.04 log CFU/g in whole chicken with statistical difference. No significant changes were observed in frozen chicken. The results of this study may provide useful information to consumers for proper storage and safe handling of chicken meats.