Evaluation of Non-Thermal Decontamination Processes to Have the Equivalence of Thermal Process in Raw Ground Chicken

Abstract The present study was aimed at examining the antibacterial effects of non-thermal decontamination processes, which are equivalent to thermal treatment, to ensure microbiological safety of raw ground chicken. Escherichia coli or Salmonella were inoculated into 25 g of raw ground chicken samples. The raw ground chicken samples were non-treated or treated with high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) at 500 MPa (1–7 min), light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation at 405 nm wavelength (30–120 min), and heat at 70°C, 90°C (1–60 min), and 121°C (1–15 min). E. coli and Salmonella cell counts were enumerated after treatments. Moreover, the color parameters of treated raw ground chicken were analyzed. HHP treatment reduced E. coli and Salmonella cell counts by more than 5 Log CFU/g and more than 6 Log CFU/g after 7 min and 1 min, respectively; these effects were equivalent to those of thermal treatment. However, LED irradiation reduced Salmonella cell counts by only 0.9 Log CFU/g after 90 min of treatment, and it did not reduce E. coli cell counts for 90 min. Compared with those of the non-treated samples, the ΔE (total color difference) values of the samples treated with HHP were high, whereas the ΔE values of the samples treated with LED irradiation were low (1.93–2.98). These results indicate that despite color change by HHP treatment, HHP treatment at 500 MPa could be used as a non-thermal decontamination process equivalent to thermal treatment.