Microbiological quality of broiler chicken carcasses processed hygienically in a small scale poultry processing unit

Though large-scale enterprises in highly-developed countries often produce millions of items in a single day, world-wide the volume of food produced in small-scale enterprises or at home in countries still developing is of great economic importance and hygienic concern. Trials were conducted to determine the degree to which the sanitary state of broilers processed on a small scale could be improved through the application of simple hygienic practices. Dressed broiler chickens were examined for microbiological quality. Live birds carried high microbial load (log cfu/cm(2)): TPC 5.34; S. aureus 3.08 and fecal streptococci 3.02. The evisceration process resulted in a significant (P (less than or equal to) 0.05) increase in microbial fecal contamination. Statistically significant lower microbial counts were observed in hygienically processed carcasses as compared with market carcasses. E. coli and fecal streptococci were completely absent in hygienically processed carcasses. Modest changes in processing methods resulted in broilers more hygienic with a gain in shelf-life compared with those regularly available on the market.