Clove Powder as an Antimicrobial Agent in Chicken Meat

A study on antimicrobial efficiency of clove powder on food borne pathogens was carried out in this work. Whole chicken obtained from local market were marinated with 1 and 2 per cent clove powder in 2 halves; one halve was inoculated with 10⁷ cells/ml of standard culture of Salmonella typhimurium, E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus separately and other half left un-inoculated prior to marination. Separate controls were kept for each treatment. All the chicken legs were wrapped in aluminum foil. The microbial analysis viz., TVC, E. coli, Salmonella and Staphylococci was carried out prior to marination and at every 2 hr interval till 6 hr at room temperature (26 ± 2°C) for un-inoculated batch and at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hr for inoculated batch. Marinating chicken meat with 2 per cent clove powder till 24 hr under refrigeration and 6 hrs in room temperature resulted in significant reduction in total viable count (TVC). The clove powder application significantly reduced the salmonella and E. coli viable counts with respect to control but there was no significant difference in counts due to 1 and 2 percent clove powder application. There was no significant difference in staphylococcal count at 0 and 2 hrs of marination among the treatments, whereas, as at 4 and 6 hr of marination, the staphylococcal counts in 2 percent clove powder treated sample was significantly less than 1 percent clove powder treated sample.