Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of novel isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (L14, L28) on reducing the amount of Salmonella in raw chicken fat stored at room temperature.
Methods: For both control and treatment groups, approximately 40 ml of chicken fat was inoculated with a 3-strain Salmonella cocktail (Typhimurium, Enteritidis and Newport) for a final concentration of log 3.00 CFU/ml. Each treatment group received respective treatments of L14 or L28 for a final concentration of log 6.00 CFU/ml. The 40 ml chicken fat was aliquot by 10 ml for each time point and was stored at 25ºC. The chicken fat was enumerated on day 0, 1 and 3 on Xylose Lysine deoxycholate (XLD) agar.
Results: After 1 day there were statistical significant differences between the control and the treatments for counts of Salmonella. After 1 and 3 days the Salmonella in the control chicken fat had grown to approximately log 5.49 CFU/ml and log 7.13 CFU/ml, respectively. For the L14 treatment on day 3, there was a 4.06-log reduction of Salmonella. Moreover, on day 3 for L28 treatment there was a 7.13-log reduction and not detectable by means of direct agar plating method.
Significance: Pets that consume contaminated pet kibble can be colonized with Salmonella organisms without exhibiting clinical signs, making the pet a possible source of contamination to people in the household. LAB can be provided to processors in various forms (frozen, liquid or freeze-dried).