Quality and microbiological stability of chilled chicken legs treated with lysozyme

The study investigated the effect of spraying chicken legs with skin with lysozyme solutions of varying activity on their microbiological stability and organoleptic features. Lysozyme was applied at concentrations ranging from 3000 to 48000 U/ml. The effect of storage time at the temperature of +4C on the total aerobic bacterial count, coli titre, the occurrence of enterococci, anaerobic sporeforming bacilli and pathogenic staphylococci was analyzed, along with the examination of sensory quality attributes. The investigations showed that the addition of lysozyme resulted in a considerable inhibition of growth of the initial aerobic bacterial counts and a limitation of disadvantageous organoleptic changes during cold storage of samples. Lysozyme solution with the activity of 48000 U/ml caused a 20-fold reduction in the initial aerobic bacterial count. Sensory examination showed that samples subjected to the action of lysozyme and stored for 120 h under cold storage conditions did not differ qualitatively from fresh elements. The obtained results showed that lysozyme might be an effective agent extending shelf-life of portioned poultry meat.