4. Discussion
4.1. Growth kinetics of co-inoculated pathogenic and spoilage bacteria
on poultry
The effectiveness of poultry chemical decontaminants (especially
TSP and ASC against Gram negative bacteria and CA against Gram
positive ones) has been previously demonstrated (Del Río et al.,
2007a, 2007b; Loretz et al., 2010). However, most studies refer to reductions
in the concentration of bacteria with regard to untreated
samples, and little information is available regarding the effect of decontamination
treatments on the bacterial growth kinetics. In the research
being presented here, the growth kinetic parameters of several
pathogenic and spoilage bacteria on poultry exposed to various
chemical decontaminants were compared, for the first time, in order
to assess whether these treatments could favour the overgrowth of
pathogenic bacteria relative to spoilage bacteria, which could imply
a potential risk to consumer.