Salmonella Cross-contamination in Retail Chicken Outlets and the Efficacy of Spice Extracts on Salmonella enteritidis Growth Inhibition on Various Surfaces

The source of Salmonella cross-contamination in 15 retail chicken outlets in a residential area of Coimbatore City, southern India, was studied. Chopping boards (18.75%) and the butcher's hands (14.29%) were predominant for Salmonella followed by knives and the weighing balance tray. Serotyping of the Salmonella strains revealed that all the strains were Salmonella enteritis, except one, which was found to be Salmonella cerro. The antibacterial activity of commonly used spices, such as garlic, onion, ginger, turmeric, clove, cinnamon and dry ginger against S. enteritidis, was evaluated. While garlic showed very good antibacterial activity even at very low concentrations, onion and ginger showed only moderate levels of inhibitory effect. The efficacy of the spice extracts in controlling the growth of S. enteritidis on various surfaces such as wood, plastic and stainless steel was also studied. The results indicated that garlic extract was very efficient in removing the organism from different contaminated surfaces at various concentrations.