ARS | Publication request: COMPARISON OF METHODS FOR RECOVERY AND ENUMERATION OF CAMPYLOBACTER FROM FRESHLY PROCESSED BROILERS

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: January 29, 2001
Publication Date: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Campylobacter is responsible for the greatest number of food-borne illness in the United States. This organism is difficult to isolate and detect in foods. Most traditional Campylobacter detection and enumeration procedures are time consuming. Estimations of Campylobacter populations by the most probable number (MPN) method are especially laborious. Our objective was to compare two MPN procedures to a simpler direct plating technique for enumeration of Campylobacter from freshly processed broiler chicken carcasses. Results obtained from the direct plating of carcass rinse samples on our (Campy-Cefex) agar were not significantly different (P<0.05) from an MPN procedure employing Hunt's Campylobacter selective enrichment broth (HEB) followed by recovery on modified Campylobacter charcoal differential agar (MCCDA). However, both of these procedures provided significantly better recovery than a second MPN procedure using Rosef's selective enrichment broth (REB) followed by plating on Mueller-Hinton blood agar with antibiotics (MHBA). The direct plating method offers food analysis laboratories in the government, industry or academia a simple, less expensive, more rapid alternative to traditional MPN procedures for estimating Campylobacter populations associated with freshly processed broiler carcasses.

Technical Abstract: Most traditional Campylobacter detection and enumeration procedures are difficult and time consuming. Estimations of Campylobacter populations by the most probable number (MPN) method are especially laborious. The objective of this study was to compare two MPN procedures (utilizing different selective enrichment broths and plating media) to the direct plating technique for enumeration of Campylobacter from freshly processed (post-chill, post-drip) broiler chicken carcasses. Results obtained from the direct plating of carcass rinse samples on Campy-cefex agar were not significantly different (P<0.05) from an MPN procedure employing Hunt's Campylobacter selective enrichment broth (HEB) followed by recovery on modified Campylobacter charcoal differential agar (MCCDA). However, both of these procedures provided significantly better recovery than a second MPN procedure using Rosef's selective enrichment broth (REB) followed by plating on Mueller-Hinton blood agar with antibiotics (MHBA). The direct plating method offers a more simple, less expensive, more rapid alternative to traditional MPN procedures for estimating Campylobacter populations associated with freshly processed broiler carcasses.