Tartaric acid in chicken marinades reduced Listeria bacteria in lab tests
What it found
Adding tartaric acid to chicken breast fillets and irradiating them lowered Listeria bacteria levels in lab tests.
People who tasted the treated chicken rated it about the same as untreated chicken.
What they found
Studies in people
Consumer taste ratings
People tasting the chicken found no major difference in overall liking, tenderness, look, or flavor when tartaric acid and plant extracts were added, whether the meat was irradiated or not.
Animal and lab studies
Listeria reduction at low dose
In lab tests, soaking chicken in tartaric acid at 37.5 or 75.0 mM and irradiating at 1 kGy cut Listeria levels by 2 to 3 log CFU/g after 12 days of cold storage compared to untreated chicken.
Listeria reduction at higher doses
In lab tests, using tartaric acid at 37.5 or 75.0 mM with 2 or 3 kGy of irradiation brought Listeria down to nearly undetectable levels.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that adding tartaric acid and natural plant extracts to chicken marinades could help prevent Listeria contamination.
How it was done
Harmful bacteria on poultry cause illness and cost the food industry money through recalls and damaged brand names. Irradiation cleans poultry but can hurt its taste and texture at higher doses.
Researchers soaked chicken breast fillets in a mixture containing tartaric acid, grape seed extract, and green tea extract under vacuum. They then exposed the chicken to different levels of electron beam irradiation and stored it for 12 days in the fridge. A group of consumers also tasted the treated chicken to rate its flavor, texture, appearance, and tenderness.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These lab tests on chicken show how well the treatment kills bacteria on food, not what happens inside the human body after eating it.
- The consumer taste test only measured immediate reactions, so scientists do not yet know if people would buy this chicken regularly over time.
The paper
- Title
- Antilisterial activity and consumer acceptance of irradiated chicken breast meat vacuum-infused with grape seed and green tea extracts and tartaric acid
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Over KF, Hettiarachchy NS, Perumalla AV, et al (2010). Antilisterial activity and consumer acceptance of irradiated chicken breast meat vacuum-infused with grape seed and green tea extracts and tartaric acid. Journal of food science. doi:10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01727.xPubMed 21535556DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error