The use of sanitisers can minimise the number of disease-causing bacteria present during the processing of chicken meat. Research regarding the use of sanitisers in the processing of meat chickens is essential to improve the method of application of sanitisers and subsequently, the food safety of consumers. This is of particular importance when chicken carcases are cut into smaller pieces.
Chlorine is a commonly used sanitiser in chicken meat processing as it is effective, readily available and can be rinsed off with clean water. Other less common sanitisers include peroxyacetic acid (PAA) and acidified sodium chlorite (ASC). Research has shown that ASC, PAA and chlorine are all effective sanitisers for reducing bacterial load during the chicken processing stages of inside/outside wash and post immersion spin chill steps. Of the three sanitisers, ASC is most effective in reducing bacterial load from the entire chicken carcase, and both ASC and PAA are more effective than chlorine at reducing bacterial total viral counts on thigh cuts.
Current and published research relating to sanitisation during processing funded by the AgriFutures Australia Chicken Meat Program include:
- Evaluating sanitisers for widespread use in the Australian chicken meat industry final report summary
- Sanitisers for commercial use in chicken meat production final report summary
- Peroxyacetic acid and acidified sodium chlorite reduce microbial contamination on whole chicken carcasses obtained from two processing points journal paper
- Comparison of peroxyacetic acid and acidified sodium chlorite reduce microbial contamination on chicken meat pieces journal paper
For more information
Download the fact sheets
- Sanitisers for commercial use in chicken meat production
- Sanitisers can affect Campylobacter survivability in different ways
Listen to the podcast
- Sanitisers for commercial use in chicken meat production by Dr Kapil Chousalkar.
Project details
Project No.: PRJ-011593 Sanitisers for commercial use in chicken meat production
Research organisation: The University of Adelaide
