Occurrence and enumeration of Campylobacter spp. during the processing of Chilean broilers.
BACKGROUND
Thermotolerant Campylobacter is among the more prevalent bacterial pathogens that cause foodborne diseases. This study aimed at evaluating the occurrence of thermotolerant Campylobacter contamination in chicken carcasses and processing plant stations (chilling water, scalding water, defeathering machinery, evisceration machine, and transport crates) in two of the Chilean main slaughterhouses. In addition, the isolation rates of thermotolerant Campylobacter during evisceration and following chiller processing were compared.


RESULTS
The overall slaughterhouse contamination with thermotolerant Campylobacter was 54%. Differences were evident when the results from each plant were compared (plant A and plant B was 72% and 36%, respectively). The sampling points with the greatest contamination rates in both plants were after evisceration (90% and 54%, for plants A and B respectively). The decrease of thermotolerant Campylobacter contamination after chilling was significant (2 and 1.6 logs for plant A and B respectively P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicate that chilling process has a limited effect in the final products Campylobacter contamination because poultry enter the slaughter processing with high counts of contamination. This may represent a health risk to consumers, if proper cooking practices are not employed. The levels and frequencies of Campylobacter found during the processing of Chilean poultry appear to be similar to those reported elsewhere in the world.
Figueroa
Guillermo
G
Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile, Macul, Santiago, Chile. gfiguero@uchile.cl
Troncoso
Miriam
M
López
Cristián
C
Rivas
Patricia
P
Toro
Magaly
M
D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002167:Campylobacter / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D002677:Chile; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005516:Food Microbiology; D011202:Poultry Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric