Inhibition of selected microorganisms in marinated chicken by pimento leaf oil and clove oleoresin

Fresh skin-on and bone-in chicken breasts were marinated with solutions containing 0.2 and 0.5% clove oleoresin (CLO) and pimento leaf oil (PLO) by soaking or immersion for 1 hr and by injection marination. The antimicrobial activity of these spices at two storage temperatures (4 and 12 degrees C) was investigated against Listeria monocytogenes, pseudomonads, yeasts, and psychrotrophs that were either inoculated on the chicken breast surface or part of the natural bioburden. In general, 0.5% CLO and 0.5% PLO significantly (P<.05) inhibited the pseudomonads. The total yeast counts were significant (P<.05) reduced by 0.2% PLO. Populations were reduced by approximately 0.5 to >2.0 logs for some treatments at 4 degrees C even after one week of storage. This, however, was not observed for those kept at 12 degrees C since the samples started spoiling at approximately 4 days of storage. None of the treatments showed significant activity against L. monocytogenes.