Chapter 5 - Introduction
Chapter 5 - Introduction
Consumers want safe and nutritious food choices. Chicken is an excellent source of dietary protein but many consumers, rightly or wrongly, associate poultry products with foodborne diseases, primarily Salmonella. Food safety involves those steps that are taken to reduce or eliminate the potential for foodborne illness that can occur from contamination that may be introduced from the farm to the table.
Bacterial pathogens cause the majority of the food-borne illness. The following are some bacteria associated with chicken:
- Salmonella
- Staphylococcus
- Clostridium perfringens
- Clostridium botulinum
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Listeria monocytogenes
Although E. coli is a commonly monitored organism in poultry processing plants, the principle reason for concern with E. coli is as an indirect indicator of fecal contamination. The majority of E. coli isolates from poultry are relatively host adapted for birds and are not considered potential human pathogens. However, poultry are highly susceptible to infection with E. coli O167:H7, a highly pathogenic organism causing hemorrhagic enteritis in humans.
Research has clearly demonstrated that the reduction of microbial contamination of processed poultry requires identification of both pre- and post-harvest critical control points where contamination may occur, and the implementation of integrated control programs.
To reduce bacterial contamination of processed chicken, it is important that the flock be negative for food-borne pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. Research has clearly shown that flocks with low level Salmonella infections or where Salmonella was undetectable prior to slaughter, could enter processing plants and remain essentially Salmonella free through the sequential stages of processing, prior to processing the first contaminated/infected flock of the day. However, after the first Salmonella contaminate/infected flock was processed, carcasses from a subsequent non-contaminated/ uninfected flock, were cross-contaminated during processing. This research clearly demonstrates the importance of controlling live bird contamination/ infection.
