Chilled broiler carcasses: a study on the prevalence of Salmonella, Listeria and Campylobacter

The demand for safe food has increased in the market in recent years. However, even with technological advances poultry meat is still susceptible to bacterial contamination. This study thus aimed to assess the microbiological quality of chilled broiler carcasses regarding the prevalence of Campylobacter spp., Listeria spp. and Salmonella spp. The study was conducted in poultry slaughterhouses operating under federal inspection in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from January 2011 to February 2013. Six hundred and thirty-two chilled broiler carcasses were analyzed by conventional culture methodology; 452 were tested for the presence of Salmonella spp., 100 for Listeria spp. and 80 for Campylobacter spp. Of this total, 10 samples (2.2%) were found to be contaminated with Salmonella spp., 11 (11.0%) with Listeria spp., and 29 (36.6%) with Campylobacter spp. Although the results have shown a lower contamination rate than that found by other studies, the values obtained represent a problem for public health, stressing the need to effectively implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in poultry industries in order to reduce the potential risk caused by the microorganisms investigated.