Rapid prediction of the potential shelf-life of fresh broiler chicken carcasses under commercial conditions

An experiment was conducted to determine if Pseudomonas fluorescens counts could be used to predict the potential shelf-life of broiler carcasses under commercial conditions. Ten whole ready-to-cook carcasses were obtained from the chiller, individually bagged in sterile bags, and placed on ice in two replicate trials. Sterile water (100 mL) was placed into the bag and the fluid from each carcass was sampled. For each sample, Pseudomonas fluorescens plate counts (PFPC), Pseudomonas fluorescens detection times (PDT), and subjective odor evaluations (ODOR) were determined. PFPC and PDT correlated well to day of storage (DAY), indicating that these methods should be useful for predicting the number of days that a carcass has been stored and the number of days remaining before spoilage defects occur. Because PDT estimations require only 1 to 26 hr to conduct and they correlate well to DAY, PDT should be the most practical method for predicting the potential shelf-life of fresh chicken for the poultry industry.