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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #194568

Title: MICROBIAL INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR CAMPYLOBACTER REDUCTION DURING COMMERCIAL TURKEY PROCESSING IN THE UNITED STATES

Author
item Byrd Ii, James - Allen
item MCELROY, A - VIRGINIA TECH UNIVERSITY
item STEVENS, S - TX A&M UNIVERSITY
item Nisbet, David
item CALDWELL, D - TX A&M UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Turkeys
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/17/2006
Publication Date: 4/20/2006
Citation: Byrd II, J.A., McElroy, A.P., Stevens, S.M., Nisbet, D.J., Caldwell, D.J. 2006. Microbial intervention strategies for Campylobacter reduction during commercial turkey processing in the United States. Turkeys. 54:17-22.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A study was conducted to determine the effects of immersion chilling on the incidence of Campylobacter recovery from processed carcasses. One hundred pre- and 100 post-chill turkey carcasses were collected from three individual processing facilities in 2002 and 2004. All carcasses were subjected to a whole carcass rinse using 200 mL of buffered peptone water and the recovered rinsate was enriched in Bolton’s Broth at 42C for 24 h. The enriched rinsate was streaked on Campy-ceflex plates and incubated 48h at 42C in a microaerophilic environment for Campylobacter detection. The intervention strategies used in the plants are as follows: Plant 1 (chlorine dioxide; ClO2), Plant 2 (ClO2 + ozone treatment of recirculated water), and Plant 3 (chlorine gas + sodium ClO). Pre- and post-processing chill immersion tank characteristics and management methodologies were also recorded for each Plant for both days. The reduction in the incidence of Campylobacter found for Plant 1-3 are as follows: Plant 1 (76.1%), Plant 2 (75%) and Plant 3 (33.3% increase), and Significant (P< .025) post-chill reductions in incidence of Campylobacter were observed during both days of samplings in Plants 1 and 2, indicating the effectiveness of these selected chiller intervention strategies on bacterial remediation. These data suggest that management of the chill immersion environment, including the represented intervention strategies, is effective for reducing the spread of Campylobacter on processed turkey carcasses.