Quantifying the variability in the survival of Campylobacter jejuni strains on broiler fillets under refrigerated conditions
Abstract
Quantifying Campylobacter survival during food production and distribution remains a critical food safety issue. This study assessed the strain variability in Campylobacter jejuni survival on broiler fillets, independently of reproduction variability. Twenty C. jejuni strains were used to contaminate fillets. Fillets were then stored at 6 • C for 14 days in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) or air. Kinetics of Campylobacter population were monitored following NF EN ISO 10272-2. Each analysis was performed in triplicate with independent bacterial culture. Survival curves were analysed to estimate D-values. Storage conditions (air vs MAP) were analysed by a ttest on log 10 D-values. The strain variability, for each storage condition, was analysed by ANOVA. Residual errors of the regression model were quantified using the Mean Squared Error (MSE). Reproduction variability and strain variability were then compared using a Fisher test based on the MSE. Results showed that C. jejuni survived significantly better under air (P-value<0.05), compared to MAP. After 14 days, the reduction in Campylobacter counts was approximately 1.6 log under MAP and 0.7 log under air. Next, under air storage conditions, no strain effect was observed likely due to higher reproduction variability than strain variability, as assessed by a Fisher test (P-value<0.05). In contrast, under MAP conditions, a strain-dependent effect was marginally significant (Pvalue = 0.06). Consistently, under MAP, reproduction variability was comparable to strain variability. Since Campylobacter jejuni strains vary in their survival kinetics in refrigerated food products, it is important to accurately predict these patterns for quantitative microbial risk assessment.
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BibTeX
@article{haddad2026quantifying,
title = {{Quantifying the variability in the survival of Campylobacter jejuni strains on broiler fillets under refrigerated conditions}},
author = {Nabila Haddad and Jeanne-Marie Membré},
journal = {Food Control},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.foodcont.2026.112472},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05776044v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Quantifying the variability in the survival of Campylobacter jejuni strains on broiler fillets under refrigerated conditions
AU - Nabila Haddad
AU - Jeanne-Marie Membré
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/02
JO - Food Control
DO - 10.1016/j.foodcont.2026.112472
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05776044v1
AB - Quantifying Campylobacter survival during food production and distribution remains a critical food safety issue. This study assessed the strain variability in Campylobacter jejuni survival on broiler fillets, independently of reproduction variability. Twenty C. jejuni strains were used to contaminate fillets. Fillets were then stored at 6 • C for 14 days in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) or air. Kinetics of Campylobacter population were monitored following NF EN ISO 10272-2. Each analysis was performed in triplicate with independent bacterial culture. Survival curves were analysed to estimate D-values. Storage conditions (air vs MAP) were analysed by a ttest on log 10 D-values. The strain variability, for each storage condition, was analysed by ANOVA. Residual errors of the regression model were quantified using the Mean Squared Error (MSE). Reproduction variability and strain variability were then compared using a Fisher test based on the MSE. Results showed that C. jejuni survived significantly better under air (P-value<0.05), compared to MAP. After 14 days, the reduction in Campylobacter counts was approximately 1.6 log under MAP and 0.7 log under air. Next, under air storage conditions, no strain effect was observed likely due to higher reproduction variability than strain variability, as assessed by a Fisher test (P-value<0.05). In contrast, under MAP conditions, a strain-dependent effect was marginally significant (Pvalue = 0.06). Consistently, under MAP, reproduction variability was comparable to strain variability. Since Campylobacter jejuni strains vary in their survival kinetics in refrigerated food products, it is important to accurately predict these patterns for quantitative microbial risk assessment.
SN - 0956-7135
ER -