title: Trimming and washing poultry carcass to reduce microbial contamination: a comparative study.
abstract: The objective of this study was to compare the efficiency of washing and trimming broiler carcasses to reduce bacterial contamination. At the postevisceration site, 100 broiler carcasses were collected during 4 visits to a slaughterhouse in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Birds were from the same flock, age, and approximately 2.4 kg of weight. Groups were as follows: group 1, with fecal contamination; group 2, without fecal contamination; group 3, with fecal contamination and trimmed; group 4, with fecal contamination and washed; group 5, with fecal contamination, and washed and trimmed. Carcass washings were performed with at least 1.5 L/bird of potable water (0.5 to 1 mg/kg of residual chlorine) at room temperature (20-25°C) using spray cabinets with 44 spray nozzles distributed into 2 chambers (pressure of 2 kgf/cm(2) and 4 kgf/cm(2)). Washed carcasses (trimmed or not) showed significantly (P < 0.05) lower counts of aerobic mesophiles (plate count agar) on the third evaluation, and even lower (P < 0.01) counts for total coliforms (CT) and fecal coliforms (Escherichia coli). Trimmed carcasses showed significantly lower counts (P < 0.05) for plate count agar; however, we observed higher counts for E. coli (P < 0.05). The association of both treatments (washing and trimming) showed significantly higher (P < 0.05) counts for coliforms (CT and E. coli). We can conclude that the washing method is overall more efficient than the trimming method to decontaminate chicken carcasses at the postevisceration site. Hopefully, our findings can help poultry companies to minimize production costs by applying the washing method for carcass decontamination.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Educação Superior do Oeste, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Rua Trombeta Zanin, 68E, Bairro Santo Antônio, Chapecó/SC, Brazil 89815-630 borrucia@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Lenita Moura
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Stefani
authors.affiliation: Centro de Educação Superior do Oeste, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Rua Trombeta Zanin, 68E, Bairro Santo Antônio, Chapecó/SC, Brazil 89815-630.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Guilherme
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Backes
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Engenharia, Campus de Ilha Solteira, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP), Ilha Solteira City/SP, 15385-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Glaucia Amorim
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Faria
authors.affiliation: Centro de Educação Superior do Oeste, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Rua Trombeta Zanin, 68E, Bairro Santo Antônio, Chapecó/SC, Brazil 89815-630.
authors.forename: Claudia Pies
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Biffi
authors.affiliation: Centro de Educação Superior do Oeste, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Rua Trombeta Zanin, 68E, Bairro Santo Antônio, Chapecó/SC, Brazil 89815-630.
authors.forename: Juliana Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: de Almeida
authors.affiliation: Centro de Educação Superior do Oeste, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Rua Trombeta Zanin, 68E, Bairro Santo Antônio, Chapecó/SC, Brazil 89815-630.
authors.forename: Helen Krystine
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Centro de Educação Superior do Oeste, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Rua Trombeta Zanin, 68E, Bairro Santo Antônio, Chapecó/SC, Brazil 89815-630.
authors.forename: Gabriella Bassi
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: das Neves
authors.affiliation: Centro de Educação Superior do Oeste, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Rua Trombeta Zanin, 68E, Bairro Santo Antônio, Chapecó/SC, Brazil 89815-630.
authors.forename: Anaiara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Langaro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: chicken meat; decontamination; microbial contamination; trimming; washing