Prevalence and Microbial Flora of Chicken Slaughtering and Processing Procedure

Abstract

This study has been performed to measure the prevalence and microbial flora on chicken slaughtering as well as the processing process from the months of October to November. Whole-chicken rinsing technique was used in order to analyze the incidence of microorganisms on chicken carcass at the stage before chilling (after evisceration), after chilling and after cutting. The swab technique was used on processing the processed samples, such as working plates and cutting knives. Brine and cooling water from four cooling tubs were taken from each processing processes and were used as samples. Furthermore, the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) for whole cell fingerprinting in combination with a dedicated bioinformatic software tool was used to identify the isolated microorganisms. Of the tested samples and processes, brine (<TEX>$4.50{\pm}0.64$</TEX> Log CFU/mL) and chicken carcass before chilling (<TEX>$4.15{\pm}0.46$</TEX> Log CFU/mL) showed the highest population of microorganisms; the predominant microbial flora of them were Moellerella wisconsensis (54.84%), a member of the Enterobacteriaceae family, and Escherichia coli (60.36%), respectively. However, the predominant microbial flora of cut carcass was changed to Staphylococcus aureus (27.32%), which is a kind of pathogenic microorganism that can cause a food-borne illness. Therefore, the slaughtering and processing procedure of chicken are needed to be controlled more hygienically.