Effectiveness of trisodium phosphate treatment against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria on poultry during refrigerated storage.

To determine the efficacy of trisodium phosphate (TSP) against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria on poultry and to assess the influence of the bacterial combination of inoculum on TSP effect, chicken legs were coinoculated with similar concentrations of a pathogenic (Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis or Listeria monocytogenes) and a spoilage (Pseudomonas fluorescens or Brochothrix thermosphacta) bacteria. Samples were dipped in TSP (12%, 15 min) or were not treated (control). Microbiological analysis and pH determinations were carried out at 0, 1, 3, and 5 days of storage (3 degrees C). Significant bacterial reductions (marked in gram-negative species) were observed on TSP-treated samples throughout refrigerated storage. Inoculum composition scarcely influenced the TSP effect against gram-positive bacteria. However, greater reductions were observed on gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella Enteritidis and P. fluorescens) when samples were coinoculated with B. thermosphacta and L. monocytogenes, respectively. Values of pH were higher in TSP-treated than in control samples at all sampling times. The combination of bacteria in inocula did not have a significant influence on pH values.