<![CDATA[This study evaluated the effects of bacteriophage concentration and contact time on Enterobacteriaceae counts in chicken meat inoculated with Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028. A cocktail bacteriophage preparation, VAM-S (SK-8 Biotech), was applied at four dilutions (1:1, 1:10, 1:100, and 1:1000), together with negative and positive controls, and the samples were stored under refrigeration for 0, 24, and 48 h. Because Enterobacteriaceae were used as the microbiological endpoint, the observed reductions should be interpreted as an indirect indicator of microbiological control rather than as direct enumeration of Salmonella alone. At 0 h, the inoculated groups started from broadly comparable baseline levels, ranging from approximately 2.68 to 4.01 log₁₀ CFU/g. Data from the inoculated groups were analyzed using two-way ANOVA, which showed significant main effects of treatment (p = 0.0066) and storage time (p = 8.24 × 10⁻⁵), with no significant interaction between treatment and storage time (p = 0.0834). At 48 h, the 1:10 dilution showed the largest numerical reduction relative to the positive control, with an estimated reduction of 0.906 log₁₀ based on the ratio of the mean CFU/g values. Visual observation did not reveal apparent changes in meat color, surface moisture, or texture following phage treatment. These findings suggest that VAM-S may contribute to the microbiological quality of chilled chicken meat, although the reduction observed under the present conditions was modest.]]>
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