Survival of Campylobacter jejuni in marinated and nonmarinated chicken products

Consumption of chicken products has been increasing. Most of these products in Finland are sold as fresh marinated pieces in consumer packages. The impact of marination on the survival of enteric pathogens is not known. We studied the survival of Campylobacter jejuni on marinated chicken drumsticks and sliced breast strips stored at a refrigerator temperature of +4C. The marinade was an emulsion of vegetable oil and water with spices, NaCl (5.9% wt/wt) and its pH was adjusted to 4.5 with lactic and acetic acid. The survival of C. jejuni was similar in marinated and nonmarinated chicken drumsticks and strips. The organisms were detected for at least nine days at the higher inoculum level (10(4) - 10(5) CFU/mL) and for at least five days at the lower inoculum level (10(1)-10(2) CFU/mL). C. jejuni, inoculated into plain marinade and stored at 4C, was detected after 24 h but not after 48 h. Our results revealed that marination procedure used to reduce and prevent the growth of spoilage organisms does not significantly decrease the survival of Campylobacter jejuni in chicken products.