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Title: CHANGES IN THE YEASTS POPULATION OF BROILER CARCASSES AFTER COMMERCIAL SCALDING AND PICKING OPERATIONS

Author
item Hinton Jr, Arthur
item Cason Jr, John
item Ingram, Kimberly

Submitted to: Southern Poultry Science Society Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/9/2000
Publication Date: 6/15/2001
Citation: Hinton Jr, A., Cason Jr, J.A., Ingram, K.D. 2001. Changes in the yeasts population of broiler carcasses after commercial scalding and picking operations. [abstract] Southern Poultry Science Society.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Many bacteria and yeasts are carried into processing facilities on the body and in the alimentary tract of live poultry. Some poultry processing operations may reduce the population size and alter the composition of the native microflora of the carcasses. In the present study, prescalded carcasses and scalded/picked carcasses were taken from a commercial processing line, and whole carcass rinses were performed to recover yeasts from the carcasses. Yeasts in the carcass rinsates were enumerated on Acidified Potato Dextrose Agar and identified with the MIDI Sherlock Microbial Identification System. Dendrograms of fatty acid profiles of the yeast isolates were prepared to determine the degree of relatedness of the isolates. Findings indicated that scalding and picking caused significant decreases in the number of yeasts associated with broiler carcasses, and these processing steps also altered the composition of the yeast flora of the carcasses. Furthermore, it was determined that the same strain of yeast may be recovered from prescalded and from scalded/picked carcasses. The same strain of yeast was also isolated from carcasses processed on different days in the same processing facility. It is known that yeasts play an important role in the spoilage of chicken meat. Determining the types of yeasts associated with poultry processing and the effects of processing on the yeast population might aid in the development of methods to increase the storage life of fresh poultry by controlling the growth of yeasts on chicken carcasses.