Abstract:

Post-slaughter poultry processing surfaces provide ideal supports for microbial survival and proliferation. Poultry processing plant scales vary, but poultry is increasingly viewed as a healthy and sustainable source of animal protein.  Despite intensive efforts, the principle food safety concerns of Salmonella and or Campylobacter spp remain important risks to be controlled.  This talk focuses on post slaughter production and a range of cold plasma intervention technologies identified as acceptable and compatible through stakeholder engagement and how these may be integrated with current practice to support microbiological safety assurance.  Cold plasma can be flexibly applied in gaseous or liquid mediated form. The Campydecon project identified production stages compatible for integrating non-thermal plasma processes within large-scale poultry processing, to understand the technical requirements for mitigating cross-contamination and maintaining food safety.  Plasma functionalised liquids (PFL) in a range of delivery modes - mixing, dipping, and misting were investigated to mimic current stages in commercial poultry processing where water is currently used in unit processes. Other cold plasma mediated interventions compatible with packaging stages were also investigated namely in-package plasma treatment and plasma functionalized product coatings. Target pathogens included Campylobacter Jejuni NCTC 11168 and Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028.  The key plasma process parameters governing the antimicrobial efficacy of each mode of plasma application were identified against relevant bacterial phenotypes, using different food contact surfaces as well as a model poultry surface and fresh chicken.  Developing the interventions aligned to key risks, stakeholder acceptability as well as industry process compatibility in sequence and scale focused the technology optimisation stages. 

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