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Title: RECOVERY OF BACTERIA FROM BROILER CARCASSES RINSED 0 OR 24 HOURS AFTER CHILLING

Author
item Cason Jr, John
item Berrang, Mark
item Smith, Douglas

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/14/2004
Publication Date: 7/26/2004
Citation: Cason Jr, J.A., Berrang, M.E., Smith, D.P. 2004. Recovery of bacteria from broiler carcasses rinsed 0 or 24 hours after chilling [abstract]. Poultry Science. 83(suppl.1):155.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The PR/HACCP rule for poultry processing requires that selected carcasses be tested for numbers of E. coli or presence of Salmonella in carcass rinse samples taken immediately after chilling. The results are compared against microbiological standards or criteria based on the 1996 broiler chicken baseline data, but carcasses in that study were shipped to a lab and were rinsed the following day. To test whether carcass rinses done immediately after chilling are comparable to rinses 24 h after chilling, 20 whole broiler carcasses exiting the chiller of a poultry plant were sampled on 3 days. Carcasses were bagged aseptically and rinsed for 1 min in 400 ml of sterile water. Recovered rinse liquid was poured into a sterile container, rinsed carcasses were placed in clean plastic bags, and all materials were held overnight at 4 C. On the following day all carcasses were rinsed again in 400 ml of sterile water as before, and all rinse samples were cultured by standard methods to enumerate coliforms, E. coli, and Campylobacter, and to determine incidence of Salmonella. Statistical analysis used paired comparisons between the same carcasses rinsed at 0 or 24 h after chilling, with numbers of bacteria expressed as log cfu/ml of rinse. Significantly higher numbers of coliforms (3.0 versus 2.7) and E. coli (2.7 versus 2.4) were found in the rinse samples taken immediately after chilling versus rinse samples done at 24 h. There were no differences in numbers of Campylobacter (mean 1.8) or incidence of Salmonella between rinses taken at 0 or 24 hours. More study is required to determine whether rinse sampling of carcasses done at 0 and 24 h after chilling are microbiologically equivalent.