Visible Ingesta on Prechill Carcasses Does Not Affect the Microbiological Quality of Broiler Carcasses after Immersion Chilling

Abstract

Microbiological quality of broiler carcasses, with or without visible ingesta contamination, was compared at pre- and postimmersion chilling sites. A total of 1,080 carcasses was sampled in seven commercial processing plants and analyzed for aerobic bacteria (aerobic plate count; APC), Escherichia coli and Campylobacter spp. counts (log10 cfu/mL), and incidence of Salmonella based on USDA approved microbiological procedures.In all plants, the APC (4.22 vs. 3.27), E. coli (2.36 vs. 1.22) and Campylobacter spp. (1.69 vs. 0.83) counts (log10 cfu/mL), and Salmonella incidence (20.7 vs. 5.7%) were significantly (P < 0.05) higher on pre- vs. postimmersion chill carcasses, respectively. Microbial load on carcasses collected from pre- and postimmersion chill sites differed significantly among the plants in this study. However, there were no statistically detectable differences (P > 0.05) in microbial counts between carcasses with or without visible contamination at both sampling sites. Overall, immersion chilling resulted in about a 1-log reduction in microbial load on carcasses, compared to prechill levels. These results demonstrate the lack of a direct correlation between the presence of visible ingesta and microbial contamination on poultry carcasses.