Chemical and organoleptic changes in poultry meat resulting from the growth of psychrophylic spoilage bacteria at 1 degree C. I. Introduction and changes in free amino acids

Changes in pH and in the free amino acid content of chicken breast and leg muscle inoculated with micro‐organisms in pure or mixed culture and stored at 1° C have been measured. Control experiments with aseptically prepared antibiotic‐treated samples separated the effects of autolysis from those attributable to the bacteria. A pigmented strain of Pseudomonas and Pseudomonas putrefaciens at counts up to 10⁸ organisms/g produced smaller effects than autolysis, but somewhat larger changes resulted from the growth to 10⁹/g of the pigmented Pseudomonas and, particularly, of a mixed culture of the two bacteria with three others normally present on chill‐stored chicken. The possible effects of these changes on flavour are discussed.