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Title: Enmeration of Campylobacter spp., Escherichia coli, and Salmonella in broiler carcass rinses before and after simulated transport in artificial ice for 24 hours

Author
item Stern, Norman
item Line, John

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2008
Publication Date: 5/18/2009
Citation: Stern, N.J., Line, J.E. 2009. Enmeration of Campylobacter spp., Escherichia coli, and Salmonella in broiler carcass rinses before and after simulated transport in artificial ice for 24 hours. Journal of Food Protection. 72(5):1099-1101.

Interpretive Summary: The maintenance and survival of target pathogens during transport from the field collection site to the analytical laboratory is essential to obtaining accurate and reliable data. This study was conducted to compare the abilities of sterile tap water (SW), buffered peptone water (BPW) and universal pre-enrichment broth (UP) in maintaining populations of Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and E. coli for 24h under simulated transport conditions. Freshly processed broiler carcasses (n=100) were rinsed in SW. The rinses were divided and components added to create equal volumes of rinse samples consisting of SW, BPW and UP. The rinses were analyzed for the target organisms immediately and again after 24h of simulated chilled transport conditions. Because sample to sample variation was small, results showed some minor statistically significant differences that were not microbiologically significant. The only limited, significant difference between the different transport media was demonstrated when using UP which recovered fewer E. coli than did either SW or BPW. These findings support the conclusion that either SW or BPW should be used as a broiler carcass rinse/transport medium to accurately depict the levels or presence of these three target bacteria as a whole. Researchers in government, academia and industry will find this information useful when conducting studies requiring transport of samples from the field to laboratories for microbiological analysis.

Technical Abstract: The maintenance and survival of target pathogens during transport from the field collection site to the analytical laboratory is essential to obtaining accurate and reliable data. This study was conducted to compare the abilities of sterile tap water (SW), buffered peptone water (BPW) and universal pre-enrichment broth (UP) in maintaining populations of Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and E. coli for 24h under simulated transport conditions. Freshly processed broiler carcasses (n=100) were rinsed in SW. The rinses were divided and components added to create equal volumes of rinse samples consisting of SW, BPW and UP. The rinses were analyzed for the target organisms immediately and again after 24h of simulated chilled transport conditions. Because sample to sample variation was small, results showed some minor statistically significant differences that were not microbiologically significant. The only limited, real difference between the different transport media was demonstrated when using UP which recovered fewer E. coli than did either SW or BPW. These findings support the conclusion that either SW or BPW should be used as a broiler carcass rinse/transport medium to accurately depict the levels or presence of these three target bacteria as a whole. Additionally, because available potable water varies in pH and water hardness across the United States, a follow-up study was conducted to investigate whether water hardness or pH, within the ranges normally found across the US, would affect Campylobacter recovery from carcass rinses. No significant differences were detected.