Contamination, cross-contamination or recontamination of pig carcasses by pathogenic microorganisms often occur during the slaughter process.
This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of two organic acids as decontaminants in pig carcasses. For this, a mix of Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC and Salmonella Derby bacterial suspensions were inoculated in samples of rind about 25 cm2 at two concentrations, with 1.42 × 105 CFU / cm2 (Suspension A) and 4.92 × 106 CFU / cm2 (Suspension B) of Salmonella mix. After, samples were decontaminated by spraying with organic acids at two concentrations: 2 and 5% of lactic acid or 2 and 5% of citric acid. Five different times were analyzed, 30 minutes, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours, totaling 120 samples. Controls were carried out for detection of Salmonella spp.
In control samples, for suspension A, an increase of 1.36 log CFU / cm2 was observed and for suspension B, an increase of 1.43 log/cm2 was obtained over the 48 h. With the application of lactic acid (2 and 5%) and citric acid (2 and 5%), lower counts were obtained over time compared to control samples. For lactic acid 2 and 5% there were only observed increases of 0.65 log CFU / cm2 and 0.51 log CFU / cm2, respectively. For suspension B, in the control samples there was an increase of 1.43 log UFC / cm2. With the addition of 5% lactic acid and 5% citric acid, it was possible to observe an increase of 0.23 log CFU / cm2 and 0.46 log CFU / cm2 counts respectively, over 48 hours of storage, also showing a bacteriostatic effect. over time.
In short, the studied acids had a bacteriostatic effect on Salmonella spp. Of the tested acids, 5% lactic acid was the one that presented better results according to the obtained counts.
