Effect of crust freezing applied alone and in combination with ultraviolet light on the survival of Campylobacter on raw chicken.

Abstract The application of crust freezing (CF) applied as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with ultraviolet (UV) light for reducing the level of artificially inoculated Campylobacter jejuni on raw chicken was investigated. CF air temperatures of −5, −15 and −27 °C (±3 °C) with freezing times of 70, 15 and 6 min, respectively, were used. The level of C. jejuni on chicken was also examined following subsequent refrigerated (0–4 °C) storage at 3 and 7 days. All CF treatments resulted in significant reductions compared to untreated controls ( P C. jejuni , the combined treatments were generally no more effective than treatment by CF alone. Overall, the color of chicken drumsticks was not affected by CF treatments ( P  ≥ 0.05). In general, CF resulted in increased drip loss ( P C. jejuni by between 0.5 and 1.5 log 10  CFU/g and impacts minimally on the color of treated skin.