A total of 100 random samples of chicken carcasses including; 25 of frozen chicken carcasses, 25 of chilled chicken carcasses and 50 of freshly slaughtered chicken carcasses were collected from different private poultry shops, supermarkets and retailing shops in Alexandria Province during the period extended from May to December 2013. Samples were subjected to microbiological evaluation via making of Aerobic Plate Count (APC), Total Enterobacteriaceae Count (TEC), Total Coliforms Count (TCC), Total Staphylococcus aureus count and Total Mould and Yeast Count. In addition, isolation and identification of E. coli was attempted. It was found that APC ranged from 7.1×102 to 2.3×105, with a mean value 3.4×104±5.4×103 cfug in frozen chicken carcasses, while in chilled chicken carcasses, APC ranged from 3×104 to 3.5×109, with a mean value 3.5×108±8.2×107 cfug and in freshly slaughtered chicken carcasses APC ranged from 5×106 to 3×109, with a mean value 4×108±9×107 cfug. Concerning TEC, it was found that TEC in the frozen examined samples ranged from 1×10 to 9.5×103 with a mean value of 2.2×10±9.4×102 cfug, while in chilled chicken carcasses ranged from 1×104 to 3.5×108 with a mean value of 7.5×106±3.9×107 cfug and in freshly slaughtered chicken carcasses ranged from 1×105 to 8.5×108 with a mean value of 8.5×106±8.9×107 cfug. Also, it was recorded that TCC in frozen chicken carcasses ranged from 0.4×10 to 2.3×10 with a mean value 1.4×10±2.9×10, while in chilled chicken carcasses TCC ranged from 0.4×10 to 4.6×102 with a mean value 1.4×10±9.4×10, and in freshly slaughtered chicken carcasses TCC ranged from 0.4×10 to 6.2×103 with a mean value 3.7×10±3.2×102. Furthermore, E. coli could be isolated from frozen, chilled and fresh chicken carcasses samples with an incidence of 72%, 76% and 80%, respectively and serological identification revealed the presence of O26:K60 (B6), O86:K61 (B7), O119:K69 (B19), O126:K71 (B16) and O124:K72 (B17) serotypes. In addition, total Staphylococcus aureus count was done and it ranged in frozen chicken carcasses from 1×10 to 9.5×103 with a mean value 1.3×103±2.52×102, in chilled chicken carcasses ranged from 1.8×102 to 1.1×106 with a mean value 1.9×105±3.3×104, and in freshly slaughtered chicken carcasses ranged from 2×103 to 3.5×107 with a mean value 2.5×105±4.2×104. Finally, it was found that total mould and yeast count in frozen chicken carcasses ranged from 1×10 to 9.1×103 with a mean value 3×102±1.2×10, in chilled chicken carcasses ranged from 1×10 to 1.3×104 with a mean value 8.6×103±2.6×102 and in freshly slaughtered chicken carcasses ranged from 2.3×102 to 4×105 with a mean value 3×104±3.1×103. From the obtained results, it was concluded that poultry carcasses possessed significant number of bacteria with significant risk of carcasses spoilage and public health hazards.
Key words: Microbial evaluation, poultry meat, E. coli, serotying
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