Examination of Poultry Giblets, Raw Milk and Meat for Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni

Abstract

An MPN procedure was used to determine the presence of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni in poultry giblets. This procedure consists of (a) subculturing a sample in Brucella broth supplemented with 0.15% agar, 0.05% sodium pyruvate and the following antimicrobial agents per liter: vancomycin 10 mg, trimethoprim 5 mg, polymyxin B sulfate 2,500 IU, amphotericin B 2 mg and cephalothin 15 mg and (b) subsequent streaking of a loopful of Brucella broth held at 42 C for 48 h on plates of Brucella agar supplemented with 10% defibrinated horse blood and the concentrations of antimicrobial agents identified above. C. fetus subsp. jejuni was present in 85% of the chicken livers and in 89% of the chicken gizzards obtained immediately after evisceration. The organism was not recovered from samples treated with chlorinated water. C. fetus subsp. jejuni was not recovered from raw milk (bulk tank samples or individual cow samples) or from beef (infraspinatus or biceps femoris muscles).