Historical, Current, and Future Prospects for Food Safety in Poultry Product Processing Systems

Poultry are already contaminated with a variety of microorganisms, and there are also ample opportunities for further microbial contamination during poultry processing. Incidents of contamination are not necessarily due to the process itself, but could possibly be more related to the management of the process or a lack of understanding of how each part of the process affects the entire system. In this chapter, an overview of Salmonella and Campylobacter as major pathogens in poultry as well as other spoilage microorganisms and common practices of poultry processing steps are discussed. The bacterial contamination or reduction during processing, governmental regulations regarding microbiological safety of poultry, and approaches to evaluate microbial contamination within the poultry facility are also described. This will give a better understanding of environmental factors, practices, and situations within the processing facility that could be fostering or encouraging increased levels of bacterial contamination. Identifying these areas will enable processors to take a more informed examination of their facility with the intention of reducing microbial populations on broiler carcasses.