The effect of short-time microwave exposures on Salmonella typhimurium inoculated onto chicken drumettes

Salmonella species show different disease syndromes and host specificity, according to their antigenic profile. Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium is one of the most frequently isolated serovar from food-borne outbreaks. Poultry meat has been identified as one of the principal foodborne sources of Salmonella. In this study, the effect of microwave treatment of chicken meat samples which were inoculated with Salmonella typhimurium were investigated. Drumette of broiler carcasses were soaked in fully growth of Salmonella typhimurium in BHI broth. The swab samples were taken from the inoculated samples, after different times of radiation (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 sec), using a domestic microwave oven at full power. The bacterial counts were performed on XLD agar. After each experiment the surface temperature of treated samples were measured. It was concluded that the microwave radiation which enhances the surface temperature more than 72°C, can eliminate the superficial contamination of chicken meat with Salmonella typhimurium.