Microbiological quality of water immersion-chilled and air-chilled broilers.
J Food Prot
; 74(9): 1531-5, 2011 Sep.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21902923
ABSTRACT
Carcass chilling during broiler processing is a critical step in preventing growth of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. The objective of this study was to compare the microbiological quality of air- and water-chilled broiler carcasses processed at the same commercial facility. For each of four replications, 15 broilers were collected from the same commercial processing line after evisceration, after spraying with cetylpyridinium chloride (a cationic disinfectant), and after air chilling or water immersion chilling (WIC). All carcasses were quantitatively examined for mesophilic aerobic bacteria, Escherichia coli, coliforms, and Campylobacter as well as for the presence of Salmonella and Campylobacter. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were seen between air and water chilling for E. coli or coliforms or for the incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter. Lower numbers of Campylobacter were recovered from WIC than from air-chilled carcasses (P < 0.05), but the incidence of Campylobacter on WIC carcasses was similar, suggesting that some Campylobacter organisms were injured rather than killed during WIC. In-line spraying with the disinfectant effectively decreased the incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter on prechilled carcasses; however, cells presumably injured by the sanitizer recovered during chilling. Therefore, on-farm intervention strategies remain critically important in minimizing the spread of microbial contaminants during processing.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bacteria
/
Cetylpyridinium
/
Cold Temperature
/
Food Handling
/
Meat
/
Anti-Infective Agents, Local
Type of study:
Incidence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Food Prot
Year:
2011
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States