Microbiological Monitoring of Hatchery Sanitation

Abstract

A comparative microbiological evaluation of sanitation practices used in six Canadian hatcheries was conducted by means of a commercially available swab kit. An assessment was made of its potential for routine use in monitoring hatchery sanitation by plant personnel. Hatcher machine inlets, exhausts, and room floors were identified as reservoirs of organisms after regular clean-up procedures had been completed. Isolated hatchery organisms were identified and the four test kit media were evaluated for their ability to exclude or support the growth of a variety of organisms. Nonselective bacteriological media in the kit were most informative for routine sanitation monitoring. A comparison between the swab kit and the direct surface agar plate techniques was undertaken in laboratory tests during which microorganisms isolated from poultry hatcheries were recovered from samples of hatchery surfaces. There was no significant difference between the two methods for recovery of Pseudomonas fragi, E. coli, Proteus, and Staphylococcus, but better recoveries were obtained for another strain of Pseudomonas and Salmonella hadar when the direct surface agar plate technique was used. Better recovery of Paecilomyces variotii was obtained when the swab kit technique was used. The lethal effect of drying on poultry microorganisms was evaluated after air drying the organisms on membrane filters.