Abstract
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from poultry carcasses were added to BHI broth along with Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in order to determine their antagonistic activity against the pathogens. There was a statistically significant reduction in Salmonella population on the 5th day that varied from 0.41 to 1.12 log CFU/ml. The reduction in L. monocytogenes population was also statistically significant and varied from 0.77 to 1.48 log CFU/ml. The LAB strain with the best inhibitory activity was chosen to examine its action against the same pathogens on the chicken skin and meat. On the chicken skin, the growth reduction on the 6th day caused by L. salivarius was lower and did not exceed the 0.54 log CFU/cm2 for Salmonella spp. and 0.71 log CFU/cm2 for L. monocytogenes. The reduction on the chicken meat was slightly lower for both pathogens. The results of the experiments suggest that L. salivarius (strain LAB 59) has a potential to be used as a protective culture to improve the safety and extend the shelf life of chicken products.