SAKARYA UNIVERSITY

ENGINEERING FACULTY
FOOD ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

FOOD MICROBIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT

Spoilage of Poultry Meat

Author
B170116554 Khadijah Zaimatun Nisa

Advisor
Prof.Dr. Arzu ÇAĞRI MEHMETOĞLU

Sakarya, 2021
i. INTRODUCTION

Poultry meat can be contaminated with a variety of microorganisms

during and after slaughtering, the bacteria could be from animal microbiota,
the slaughterhouse environment, and the equipment used. The contaminating
microorganisms in poultry meat could be divided into two groups: those that
are capable to cause foodborne illness and organisms that are harmless to
human health but able to multiply during the cold storage.

Most bacterial growth in poultry meat generally takes place on the

surface, such as skin, lining of the body cavity, and any cut surfaces.
Spoilage bacteria can reproduce rapidly and cause objectionable changes in
odor, taste, and texture. It can cause poultry to turn a dark color, develop an
objectionable odor, and become slimy. Storing poultry meat in refrigerator at
4 oC will prevent the meat to spoiled, but in a few days spoilage will still
occur.

The bacteria found on freshly processed poultry are primarily

mesophilic. The pathogens frequently cause gastroenteritis due to poultry
meat consumption. Data for the European Union (EU) show that in 2001,
there were 157.822 reported cases of human illness caused by Salmonella, or
generally knows as salmonellosis, and 156.232 cases of Campylobacter
enteritis (Cavitte, 2003). Besides, other pathogens also occur in poultry meat
such as Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli 0157, Listeria
monocytogenes. Arcobacter and Helicobacter are also more recently reported
as the pathogens present in poultry meat (Corry & Atabay, 2001).

In contrast, the bacteria which present in spoiled poultry are generally

psychrotrophic. Pseudomonas is the predominant spoilage bacteria which
present in the spoilage of the poultry meat. This spoilage bacteria responsible
in the present of off-odors and slime formation in spoiled poultry meat.

i.i. Experiment Purpose

The aim of this experiment is to observe the process of chicken meat

spoilage, determine which microorganisms cause the spoilage of chicken
meat, and what those microorganisms do during the spoilage.
ii. RESULT
ii.i. Experiment Result
Stored at 25 o C Stored at 4 oC
DAY 1 DAY 1

Odor
It still smells normal
Appearance
Odor Still look fresh in color
Start to smell bad Texture
Appearance Still normal
Turn darker in color
Texture
Sticky and slimy

DAY 2 DAY 2

Chicken meat at room temperature

turns more darker, smells like rotten
eggs, and turns into slimier and
stickier in texture. Maggots grow in
the surface of the meat. Chicken meat
completely spoiled.

Odor
Starts to smell bad
Appearance
Still look good in color, but start to
turn darker.
Texture
Still normal

DAY 3
Odor
Smell bad
Appearance
Turn darker
Texture
Still normal

DAY 4

Odor
Smell bad
Appearance
Turn darker
Texture
Still normal

DAY 4
Odor
Smell bad
Appearance
Turn darker
Texture
Start to slimy & sticky in texture.

DAY 5

Odor
Smell bad
Appearance
Turn darker
Texture
Slimy & sticky in texture.

DAY 6

Odor
Smells like rotten egg
Appearance
Turn darker
Texture
Slimy & sticky in texture.
 DAY 7

Odor
Smells totally bed
Appearance
Turn darker
Texture
Slimy & sticky in texture.

ii.ii. Analysis

Spoilage bacteria which able to reproduce at cold temperature such as

Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas are called psycrotrophic bacteria. Fresh
poultry meat at refrigerator temperatures will start to spoil as a result of the
growth of those bacteria.

Objectionable changes in odor, appearance, and texture as a result of

the growth of the spoilage bacteria on poultry meat surface is caused by the
accumulation of metabolic by-products or the action of extracellular enzymes
produced by psychrotrophic bacteria. In most cases, off-odor present before
slime formation. Off-odors are not caused by the breakdown of the protein in
skin and muscle, but they present as a result of microbial utilization of low
molecular weight nitrogenous compounds such as amino acids, which are
present in skin and muscle. Meanwhile, the formation of slime presents in the
result of degradation of meat by Pseudomonas.

Spoilage occurs when the carbohydrates source in meat is exhausted by

the effect of high amount of bacteria multiplication. Once the carbohydrates
 supply insufficient, spoilage bacteria begin to utilize other sources of energy
which produce odoriferous end-products. (Pooni and Mead, 1984). Off-odors
are produced when the population of spoilage bacteria reaches between 5.2 to
8.0 log10 cfu/cm2 or when the pseudomonads reach populations of 108 cfu/g
(Elliott and Michener, 1961).

iii. CONCLUSIONS

The poultry meat at room temperature spoiled easier than the one which stored
in refrigerate temperature because spoilage bacteria multiply most rapidly and
produce off-odors at approximately 25 oC. At the room temperature, the
predominant spoilage bacteria which produces off-odors in the poultry meat is
Shewanella. In the other side, predominant psychrotrhropic bacteria which caused
the off-odors of poultry meat at the refrigerator temperature is Pseudomonas.

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