Effect of High Hydrostatic Pressure Treatment Before Heat Processing in Chicken Meat for Reduction of Foodborne Pathogens

Abstract

Raw and/or insufficient heat-cooked chicken meats are the major vehicles of human campylobacteriosis in Japan. These often cause human foodborne salmonellosis as well. Hence, the establishment of effective treatments for reduction of these pathogens from chicken meats in combination with heat processing is an important issue for food safety. In this study, the effects of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment prior to heat cooking for reduction of foodborne pathogens in cooked chicken meat was examined. Raw yakitori (Japanese chicken brochette) samples which were treated with HHP at 500 MPa for 10 min showed negative results of Campylobacter and Salmonella by detection methods after cooking at 200̊C for 5 min. On the other hand, HHP treatments with 300 MPa and 400 MPa for 10 min were not sufficient for inactivation of these pathogens under condition used in this study. Color and hardness of the HHP-treated yakitori samples were almost comparable to the samples without HHP treatment after cooking. These results suggest the effectiveness of HHP treatment prior to heat cooking to reduce the foodborne cases caused by insufficient cooked meats.