67 cells/mL of rinse was recovered.
Figures 6 through 9 show the data
obtained for APCs, Enterobacteriaceae
counts, total coliform counts and
E. coli counts on carcasses. These data
show that APCs were reduced by 1.70
logs (> 90%), Enterobacteriaceae were
reduced by 2. 20 logs (> 99%), total coliforms were reduced by 1.59 logs (>
90%), and E. coli were reduced by 1.74
logs (> 90%) on carcasses as they traversed the processing plant.
young chicken samples during this survey were Kentucky, Heidelberg, Typhimurium
and Typhimurium (Copenhagen), and these findings were consistent regardless of shift
or whether the sample was obtained at rehang or post-chill. n
Scott M. Russell, Ph.D., is Professor of Poultry Products and Processing Microbiology in
the Poultry Science Department at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2772 and
is a member of the Food Safety Magazine editorial advisory board. He can be reached at
srussell@uga.edu.
“As with Salmonella,
the U.S. poultry
industry is reducing
Campylobacter
prevalence and
number on
carcasses during
processing.”
Summary
No matter which parameter is considered (pathogenic bacterial prevalence or
number, or indicator bacterial numbers),
this study by the FSIS clearly shows that
poultry plants across the U.S. are utilizing interventions that are effective for
significantly reducing bacterial populations on carcasses. When results from rehang and post-chill were compared, a
reduction in the percentage positive rate
was observed for both Salmonella (
rehang – 40.70%, post-chill – 5.19%, at P
value < 0.05, P = 0.00) and
Campylobacter (rehang – 71.36%, post-chill – 10.66%
at P value < 0.05, P = 0.00). The researchers also found that the Salmonella
serotypes isolated most often from the
