Scientists at Mississippi State University looked at the use of lauric arginate as a preservative.
Chander Sharma, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researcher and assistant professor in the MSU Department of Poultry Science, said the compound had been tested on other pathogens but there was limited data on its use against C. jejuni in the meat system.
Researchers tested the effectiveness of lauric arginate on a pure culture of C. jejuni and also coated the outside of raw chicken breast fillets with the pathogen, treated them with the compound, packaged the meat and refrigerated it for a week.
Both experiments showed lauric arginate was effective against the bacteria.
The researchers said the results show it could be used by poultry processing companies during the post-chilling process on cut-up parts.