Numbers of Campylobacter detected on broiler carcasses decrease due to scalding but rebound during defeathering. Earlier research indicated that escape of gut contents during defeathering is an important contributor to the increase in Campylobacter numbers, whereas aerosols created by feather picking machines are not. The objective of this study was to determine if contact with surfaces in natu...

The method presented in this paper should prove useful in assessing the effectiveness of HACCP plans developed in slaughterhouses. Samples were collected by swabbing well-defined areas of pork and beef carcasses with sterile gauze. Between 160 and 420 half-carcasses were swabbed in each of nine pork or beef slaughterhouses. Swabs from five carcasses were placed in the same sterile Stomacher bag...

Small mammals were sampled at two waste burial sites (Sites 1 and 2) at Area G, TA-54, and a control site outside Area G (Site 3) to identify radionuclides that are present within surface and subsurface soils at waste burial sites, to compare the amount of radionuclide uptake by small mammals at waste burial sites to a control site, and to identify the primary mode of contamination to small mam...

The quantitative contamination load of Salmonella in raw chicken carcasses at the retail level in six provinces and cities of China was determined within 1595 carcasses over 12 consecutive months. The overall Salmonella contamination rate was 41.6% and the median load of those contaminated was 4.6 MPN/100 g with 1.8 MPN/100 g as the 25th percentile and 18.0 MPN/100 g as the 75th percentile. The...

Microbiological sampling of processed broiler carcasses often relies on the technique of whole-carcass rinsing; however, the rinse sampling is sometimes done immediately after immersion chilling and sometimes as long as 24 h after immersion chilling. To test whether carcass rinses done immediately after chilling can be compared with rinses 24 h after chilling, 20 whole broiler carcasses exiting...

The effect of the Hygiene Assessment System (HAS) alone and the HAS combined with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HAS + HACCP) on the bacteriological quality of beef in abattoirs were assessed. Sponge swab samples were collected from chilled beef carcasses for indicator organisms: Aerobic Plate Count (APC) and Enterobacteriaceae, and spoilage organisms, Pseudomonas spp. and lactic a...

The behaviour of free ranging wild boar (Sus scrofa) towards carcasses of their conspecifics potentially infected with African swine fever (ASF) may significantly influence the course of an ASF epidemic. This study aims to better understand the behaviour of wild boar towards their dead fellows. Thirty-two wild boar carcasses on nine study sites in northeast Germany were monitored under field co...

The effectiveness of current antimicrobial interventions used in reducing the prevalence or load of Escherichia coli O157 and indicator organisms on cattle hides and carcasses at two commercial beef processing plants was evaluated. Sponge sampling of beef cattle was performed at five locations from the initial entry of the animals to the slaughter floor to the exit of carcasses from the "hotbox...

Foodborne Campylobacter-associated gastroenteritis remains a public health concern, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that improperly handled poultry is the most important source of this human disease. In response to these concerns, 10 of the largest U.S. poultry integrators cooperatively determined the incidence and counts of Campylobacter on processed broiler carcass...

Four experiments were conducted, using carcasses from cattle identified for anticipated variability in tenderness (Exp. 1, 2, and 3) and carcasses selected for variability in physiological maturity and marbling score (Exp. 4), to evaluate the ability of the Tendertec Mark III Beef Grading Probe (Tendertec) to predict tenderness of steaks from beef carcasses. In Exp. 1, 2, and 3, longissimus ste...