Microbiological, Physicochemical, and Histological Analyses of Broiler Carcasses with Cachexia

Lc Nery,Lr Santos,Jee Marcolin,L Daroit,El Dickel

doi:10.1590/1806-9061-2017-0476

Abstract

ABSTRACT Broiler carcasses presenting cachexia, as determined by the federal inspection agency, were submitted to microbiological, physicochemical, and histological analyses. Over a 2-month period, 278 carcasses from straight-run flocks of 43- to 48-d-old Cobb broilers from two different farms were condemned due to cachexia and subjected to gross examination in the final inspection sector. Out of the 278 carcasses, 131 did not present any gross signs of infection, and were submitted to microbiological analyses (n=83), physicochemical analyses (n=28), and viscera and muscle samples of 20 carcasses were evaluated by histology. The microbiological results of cachectic carcasses complied with the current legislation on the consumption of fresh poultry meat. Lower lipid and higher protein, moisture, and volatile matter contents, and higher pH (p<0.05) were determined in the cachectic than in the control carcasses from a same flock, but no ash content differences. All carcasses were negative for hydrogen sulfide. The histological analysis showed that65% of the cachectic carcasses did not have any muscle injury, 20% showed mild hyalinization and 15% moderate proliferation of fibrous connective tissue. The findings of this study indicate the importance of further technical and scientific studies on the utilization of cachectic broiler carcasses for the manufacture of edible products, rather than whole carcasses rendering, thereby preventing the resulting economic losses.

Highlights

Cachexia is one of the main causes for the condemnation of whole carcasses in the inspection lines broiler processing plants
The study was performed with carcasses collected in a commercial processing plant under federal inspection in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, where broilers from a broiler farm located in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Farm 1 = F1) and another located in the State of Santa Catarina (Farm 2 = F2), both contracted by two different companies, are slaughtered
The average weights of the cachectic carcasses were 0.6475±0.1142kg (F1) and 0.6586±0.1167kg (F2), and not statistically different (p=0.6638), indicating that the broilers showed similar responses the stressors that triggered cachexia, regardless flock management on the farms, and because they belonged to the same genetic line

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Cachexia is one of the main causes for the condemnation of whole carcasses in the inspection lines broiler processing plants. In Brazil, in processing plants under federal inspection, 2,565,411 broiler carcasses were condemned for cachexia in 2014, accounting for 0.05% of birds processed. Cachexia is characterized by muscle malformation and muscle mass reduction, purplish meat color, protrusion of the sternum keel due to the loss of muscle cover, and the almost complete absence of fat in the carcass (Rio Grande do Sul, 2015). Whole condemned carcasses and offal are no submitted to thorough gross examination, which does not allow to determine if the etiology of cachexia is infectious or not. Whole cachectic carcasses identified by the federal inspection service and which presented no gross findings associated with infectious processes, such as abscesses, fibrin deposition and adhesions, were evaluated. Microbiological, physicochemical, and histological analyses of cachectic or non-cachectic carcasses of broilers of a same flock and of the viscera and muscles of broilers with cachexia were conducted to determine the possible presence of infectious agents

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results

CONCLUSION