The effect of HACCP implementation on the microbial profile of a poultry abattoir

[摘要] English: As the demand for poultry meat increases, so does the awareness of its potential to contain pathogens and other spoilage bacteria. Due to the nature of the product and the processing involved in the transformation of live birds into carcasses and portions, it is easy for the product to become contaminated. The aim of the study was to determine the microbial profile of the factory before and after Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) implementation. Microbial analysis (total aerobic mesophilic count, coliform and Escherichia coli count, yeast and mould counts, Listeria monocytogenes presence, Salmonella presence and Staphylococcus aureus presence) were performed on the following places and products in the factory: mechanical line after defeathering, manual line after evisceration, mechanical line after evisceration, manual line after spray-washing but before spin chilling, gizzards, hearts, livers, portions, hand swabs, packaging material and conveyor belts. Before HACCP implementation, most of the bacterial counts found in the study was higher than that of the literature. There was, however, a marked reduction in the microbial profile of the carcasses after HACCP implementation. All of the bacterial counts were lowered except for the following: mould counts from the mechanical line after evisceration, E. coli count from the packaging material, total aerobic mesophilic and coliform counts from the conveyor belts. All the pathogens that were tested for were eliminated from the carcasses and other places and products. There was thus an improvement in the microbiological quality of the product. The only section that needed improvement was the conveyor belts as the HACCP system did not reduce or eliminate bacterial or pathogen counts on them. Even though the amount of contamination in the factory was reduced, microbial loads will only be further improved if the broilers that arrive at the processing plant have low microbial contamination levels. The breeder farms should establish a HACCP system to reduce the initial contamination of the flock, in order to decrease the degree of contamination at the factory. The conclusion was drawn that HACCP implementation at this poultry factory was very effective in reducing the microbial load and eliminated the presence of Salmonella, S. aureus and L. monocytogenes.

[发布机构] University of the Free State