A study was conducted to determine if the effectiveness of an antimicrobial treatment for cooked ham and bologna would be increased or maintained when applied in a surface coating. Cooked 10-g disks of ham and bologna sausage received one of three treatments: no coating (control), coating with 0.2 g of 7% (wt/vol) gelatin gel (gel-control), or coating with 0.2 g of 7% gelatin gel containing 25.5 g/liter of lysozyme-nisin (1:3) plus 25.5 g/liter of EDTA (gel-treated). The samples were then inoculated with one of six test organisms: Brochothrix thermosphacta, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Lactobacillus sakei, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Listeria monocytogenes, or Salmonella Typhimurium. Inoculated samples were vacuum packed and stored at 8 degrees C for 4 weeks. The antimicrobial gel treatment had an immediate bactericidal effect up to 4 log CFU/cm2 on the four gram-positive organisms tested (B. thermosphacta, Lactobacillus sakei, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Listeria monocytogenes) and inhibited the growth of these organisms during the 4 weeks of storage. The antimicrobial gel treatment also had a bactericidal effect on the growth of Salmonella Typhimurium during storage. The numbers of E. coli O157:H7 on ham were reduced by 2 log CFU/cm2 following treatment with both antimicrobial-containing and non-antimicrobial-containing gels during the 4-week storage period. No effect was observed on the growth of E. coli O157:H7 on bologna.