Enumeration of Campylobacter and Salmonella on chicken packs

• Published in: British food journal (1966) Vol. 106; no. 9; pp. 651 - 662
• Main Authors: Wong, TeckLok, Janet Whyte, Rosemary, Joyce Cornelius, Angela, Hudson, John Andrew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.09.2004
• Subjects: Campylobacter; Chickens; Contamination; Food contamination & poisoning; Food packaging; Food products; Food safety; Foodborne diseases; Immunoassay; Laboratories; Lactose; Microorganisms; Packaging; Pathogens; Poultry; Risk assessment; Salmonella; Studies; Supermarkets; New Zealand; USA, Tennessee; Micro-organisms; Food safety; Food products; Poultry; Contamination
• ISSN: 0007-070X; 1758-4108
• DOI: 10.1108/00070700410558184

Transmission routes that may contribute to the overall picture of campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis were explored by analysing the outside surfaces of 300 retail raw chicken packs for prevalence and enumeration of Campylobacter using a MPN PCR assay and Salmonella using a MPN visual immunoassay procedure. The surfaces of 72 packs (24.0 per cent) were externally contaminated with C. jejuni; 32 with counts of <6 MPN pack and the remaining 40 with counts ranging from 6 to >2,200 MPN pack. One whole chicken sample (0.3 per cent) was contaminated with S. Tennessee at <6 MPN pack. The surfaces of offal packs were most contaminated with Campylobacter, with 18 per cent having a count of ≥100 MPN pack in comparison with chicken portion packs (4 200, 2 per cent) and whole bird packs (1 50, 2 per cent). These observations suggest that packs could be a source of cross-contamination, however, the contribution of this outer surface contamination pathway to foodborne illness can only be properly determined by development of a validated risk assessment model.