The Use of Chlorine Dioxide Solution as an Effective Decontaminant for Broiler Chicken Carcass

Abstract

Ensuring the microbial safety of poultry meat and cuts is essential as there was an upsurge in the consumption of meat and value-added products over the years worldwide. Chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) is a powerful decontaminant and is effective against wide range of microorganisms. The present study investigates the effect of ClO₂ as an effective decontaminant for broiler chicken carcass. Broiler chicken carcass was washed with hot water (T1), carcass washed with 100 ppm ClO₂ solution for 5 minutes (T2) and carcass washed with 200 ppm ClO₂ solution for 5 minutes (T3) were the three treatments taken. The untreated chicken carcass is taken as control (C). Surface swabs were collected from broiler carcass and assessed the microbial quality. pH, water holding capacity and sensory evaluation of the samples were also evaluated. Total viable count, Coliform count, and Yeast and mould count were significantly lower (p<0.05) for T3. T3 also recorded higher values for pH and water holding capacity. On sensory evaluation, mean overall acceptability of the control, T2 and T3 show no significant differences (p<0.05), but T1 showed significantly lower overall acceptability scores as compared to others. This study shows that broiler chicken carcasses can be effectively decontaminated after processing by washing with ClO₂ solution at 200 ppm concentration for 5 minutes. This method can be used as a tool to increase the shelf life and reduce the illness caused by various pathogens without altering the sensory qualities.