Reducing levels of Listeria monocytogenes contamination on raw salmon with acidified sodium chlorite.

The antimicrobial activity of acidified sodium chlorite (ASC) against Listeria monocytogenes in salmon was studied. Raw salmon (whole fish and fillets) inoculated with L. monocytogenes (10(3) CFU/cm2 or 10(4) CFU/g) were washed with ASC solution (50 ppm) for 1 min and stored at -18 degrees C for 1 month (whole salmon) or in ice for 7 days (fillets). L. monocytogenes populations were determined for whole salmon after frozen storage and for fillets on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 of storage. A wash with ASC solution followed by ASC glazing did not reduce L. monocytogenes on the skin of whole salmon during frozen storage. However, the wash resulted in an L. monocytogenes reduction of 0.5 log CFU/g for salmon fillets. The populations of L. monocytogenes in fillets increased slowly during ice storage, but the growth of these populations was retarded by ASC ice. By day 7, the populations were 0.25 log units smaller in fillets stored in ASC ice and 0.62 log units smaller in fillets that had been washed with ASC solution and stored in ASC ice than in control fillets. Treatment with ASC also reduced total plate counts (TPCs) by 0.43 log CFU/cm2 on the skin of whole salmon and by 0.31 log CFU/g in fillets. The TPCs for skin decreased during frozen storage but increased gradually for fillets stored at 5 degrees C or in ice. However, TPCs of ASC-treated samples were lower than those for controls at any point during the study. Washing with ASC solution significantly (P < 0.05) reduced TPCs on the skin of whole salmon and in fillets, as well as L. monocytogenes in fillets. The antimicrobial activity of ASC was enhanced when salmon was washed with ASC solution and stored in ASC ice.