Fig. 1

Flow diagram illustrating the sample handling and analysis of chicken breast samples. Two fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts taken from the same retail package were used in this study (n = 2). Each chicken breast was rinsed in buffered peptone water (BPW). The rinsate was divided into three portions and each was incubated as indicated (no enrichment, 6 h enrichment, and 18 h enrichment). Samples from each portion and enrichment time were removed for cryopreservation and agar plating. Culture independent analysis was performed with the no enrichment cryopreserved sample. Culture-based analysis involved culturing the rinsate in broth followed by plating on agar and colony identification using a Biotyper. Broth analysis involved collecting the cells following enrichment for DNA extraction and 16S rRNA analysis