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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 #244075
Title: The change in prevalence of Campylobacter on chicken carcasses during processing: A systematic review

Author
item GUERIN, MICHELE - University Of Guelph
item SIR, CHARLOTTE - University Of Guelph
item SARGEANT, JAN - University Of Geulph
item WADDELL, LISA - University Of Guelph
item O'CONNOR, ANNETTE - Iowa State University
item WILLS, ROBERT - Mississippi State University
item BAILEY, HART - Mississippi State University
item Byrd Ii, James - Allen

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/12/2010
Publication Date: 5/1/2010
Citation: Guerin, M.T., Sir, C., Sargeant, J.M., Waddell, L., O'Connor, A.M., Wills, R.W., Bailey, H.R., Byrd II, J.A. 2010. The change in prevalence of Campylobacter on chicken carcasses during processing: A systematic review. Poultry Science. 89:1070-1084.

Interpretive Summary: A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the change in the number of food–poisoning bacteria, Campylobacter, on chicken carcasses during processing. A search of eight electronic databases using keywords for “Campylobacter,” “chicken,” and “processing” identified 1,734 unique papers. Abstracts were screened for importance by two independent reviewers. Thirty-two studies that described the number of bacteria at more than one stage during slaughter were included in this review. Of the studies that described the number of Campylobacter on slaughter chickens before and after specific stages of processing, the water chilling stage had the greatest number of studies (9), followed by washing (6), feather-removal (4), heat scalding (2), and evisceration (1). Studies that sampled before and after heat scalding, chilling, or both showed that the number of Campylobacter generally decreased immediately following the stage. The number of Campylobacter increased following feather removal and evisceration. Available evidence suggests many gaps in our knowledge of how the number of Campylobacter changes during processing. Understanding how number of Campylobacter changes as chicken carcasses progress through slaughter will help poultry scientists identify points in processing where new or enhanced interventions might be most effective.

Technical Abstract: A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the change in prevalence of Campylobacter on chicken carcasses during processing. A structured literature search of eight electronic databases using keywords for “Campylobacter,” “chicken,” and “processing” identified 1,734 unique citations. Abstracts were screened for relevance by two independent reviewers. Thirty-two studies described prevalence at more than one stage during processing and were included in this review. Of the studies that described the prevalence of Campylobacter on carcasses before and after specific stages of processing, the chilling stage had the greatest number of studies (9), followed by washing (6), de-feathering (4), scalding (2), and evisceration (1). Studies that sampled before and after scalding, chilling, or both showed that the prevalence of Campylobacter generally decreased immediately following the stage (scalding: 20.0% to 40.0% decrease; chilling: 100.0% decrease to 26.6% increase). The prevalence of Campylobacter increased following de-feathering (10.0% to 72.0%) and evisceration (15.0%). The prevalence following washing was inconsistent among studies (23.0% decreases to 13.3% increase). Available evidence suggests many gaps in our knowledge of how the prevalence of Campylobacter changes during processing. Understanding how prevalence and concentration of Campylobacter changes as carcasses progress through primary processing will help researchers and program developers identify points in processing that might negate prior intervention efforts, e.g. before evisceration, and points where new or enhanced interventions might be most effective.