EN
Survival rates of Campylobacter jejuni ATCC 33 291, Campylobacter jejuni PZH 38 and Campylobacter coli ATCC 43 478 in leg quarters (ca 330g) of chicken broilers after microwave heating (480 and 760 Watt) for 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 minutes were determined. Heating the meat in a microwave oven (Moulinex, type Dialog cook) at 480 Watts caused a gradual decrease in the number of cells of the studied bacterial strains to total inactivation after 8 – 10 minutes of heating. Increasing the heating power to 760 Watts led to a decreased microwave heating time of 6 – 8 minutes for inactivation of all the cells of the studied C. jejuni/coli strains. These findings clearly indicate the dependence of effectiveness of inactivation of the bacteria studied on microwave heating power, heating duration and bacterial strain.