Bacteriological Study of Poultry Meat in Semi-Automatic Abattoir in Khartoum State-Sudan

Abstract

The current study was conducted to investigate the contaminating microorganisms that can be found on broiler carcasses during slaughtering in semiautomatic poultry abattoir in Khartoum State. Forty five swab samples were collected randomly from chicken carcasses and worker’s hands. The samples were taken after following processing steps: defeathering, evisceration, spray wash, chilling and from workers hands. Total Viable Count (TVC) of contaminating bacteria was done besides isolation and identification of bacteria. The results revealed that there was statistically significant difference in the TVC after defeathering (p? 0.05). The highest contamination level was recorded after evisceration on the legs, 8.16±0.11 log10 CFU/cm2, back, 8.68±0.25 log10 CFU/cm2 and the breast, 9.18±0.13 log10 CFU/cm2. The contaminating bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Shigella spp. and Salmonella spp. High levels of microbial contamination can be carried by bad evisceration and poor hygienic managements, but better facilities and processing units with better hygiene make broiler meat have a concern for suppliers, consumers and public health officials.