ARS | Publication request: SALMONELLA PREVALENCE RATES FROM THE BREEDER FARM THROUGH THE PROCESSING PLANT OF AN INTEGRATED POULTRY OPERATION

Submitted to: World Poultry Science Association Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 30, 2000
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: To develop effective strategies to reduce the human enteropathogen salmonellae on chickens, good epidemiological data is needed. The objective of this study was to show the prevalence of salmonellae in broiler chickens from breeders to processing. Fecal droppings from breeder and grow-out houses; eggshells, paper pads, and fluff from the hatchery and carcass rinse samples from the processing plant were analyzed by USDA, cultural procedures for the presence of salmonellae. Fecal samples from a single broiler breeder (parent) flock and from their progeny in two subsequent broiler grow-out houses were salmonellae positive 24% (12/50), 36% (18/50) and 60% (30/50) of the time. Salmonellae were recovered from 99 % (79/80) of the hatchery samples, but from only 7% (7/100) of the processing plant carcass rinse samples taken after the final chiller. As has been previously demonstrated, when salmonellae are present on eggs entering the hatchery, transmission is likely to occur during the hatch period which leads to colonization and subsequent salmonellae dissemination during production, transport and processing. In the current study, processing procedures, most probably elevated levels of chlorine in the chill tank, led to significant reductions in prevalence rates of salmonellae on the final processed carcass. This epidemiological data will be useful in determining where intervention strategies are needed during chicken production