ARS | Publication request: Recovery of Bacteria from Broiler Carcasses after Immersion Chilling in Different Volumes of Water, Part2.

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: November 27, 2007
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
Citation: Northcutt, J.K., Cason Jr, J.A., Ingram, K.D., Smith, D.P., Buhr, R.J., Fletcher, D.L. 2008. Recovery of Bacteria from Broiler Carcasses after Immersion Chilling in Different Volumes of Water, Part2. Poultry Science. 87:573-576.

Interpretive Summary: An experiment was conducted to determine the relationship between poultry chilling and carcass microbiology. Pre-chill broiler carcasses were cut into left and right halves, and one half of each pair was individually chilled in a low (3.3 L/kg) or high (6.7 L/kg) volume of distilled water. After 45 min, halves were removed and analyzed for bacteria. The volume of water used during chilling had no effect on the numbers of bacteria recovered from carcass halves. The present study shows that doubling the amount of water that is traditionally used during immersion chilling (6.7 L/kg) will not improve the removal of bacteria from the surfaces of chilled carcasses. Data also supports the idea that maintaining fresh water input in the chiller (overflow) is important, but attention should also focus on other factors that minimize carcass cross-contamination (level of antimicrobial in chiller).

Technical Abstract: