Sodium lactate and bacterial growth in vacuum-packed chicken
What it found
Adding sodium lactate to vacuum-packed chicken delayed the growth of Clostridium perfringens bacteria from spores during storage.
This was tested in lab-prepared chicken samples, not in people.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Bacterial delay at 25 degrees
In lab tests, adding 1.5% sodium lactate held back bacterial growth for 29 hours at 25 degrees C. At 4.8%, no growth happened over 480 hours.
Bacterial delay at 19 degrees
Without sodium lactate, bacteria multiplied heavily within 288 hours at 19 degrees C. With 3% or 4.8% sodium lactate, there was little or no growth over 648 hours.
Cold storage stopped growth
At 4 degrees C, the bacteria did not grow regardless of how much sodium lactate was added to the chicken samples.
Heat resistance changes slightly
The time needed to reduce bacteria at 55 degrees C went from 47.40 minutes without sodium lactate to 57.58 minutes with 1.5% sodium lactate.
Temperature abuse effects
When chilled samples were left out for 20 hours, bacteria did not grow. Without sodium lactate, leaving them out for 24 hours or more led to growth.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that adding between 1.5% and 4.8% sodium lactate provides an extra degree of safety in these chicken products.
- Their results show that sodium lactate effectively delays bacterial growth when the food is stored at warmer temperatures.
How it was done
Vacuum-packed cooked chicken can support the growth of harmful bacteria if stored at warm temperatures. The authors wanted to see if sodium lactate could slow this bacterial growth.
They prepared marinated chicken breasts sealed in bags with 0%, 1.5%, 3%, or 4.8% sodium lactate by weight. They heated the bags until the inside reached 71.1 degrees C, cooled them in ice, and stored them at 4, 19, or 25 degrees C. They then measured how much Clostridium perfringens grew from added spores over time.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are lab tests on chicken samples, so they cannot show what happens when people eat the food.
- This work only looked at one type of bacteria, so it does not cover all possible germs.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Eastern Regional Research Center, USA
The paper
- Title
- Delayed Clostridium perfringens growth from a spore inocula by sodium lactate in sous-vide chicken products
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Juneja VK (2006). Delayed Clostridium perfringens growth from a spore inocula by sodium lactate in sous-vide chicken products. Food microbiology. doi:10.1016/j.fm.2005.03.002PubMed 16942993DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error