Use of a marker organism in poultry processing to identify sites of cross‐contamination and evaluate possible control measures

Abstract

1. Nine different sites at a poultry processing plant were selected in the course of a hazard analysis to investigate the degree of microbial cross‐contamination that could occur during processing and the effectiveness of possible control measures.

2. At each site, carcases, equipment or working surfaces were inoculated with a non‐pathogenic strain of nalidixic acid‐resistant Escherichia coli K12; transmission of the organism among carcases being processed was followed qualitatively and, where appropriate, quantitatively.

3. The degree of cross‐contamination and the extent to which it could be controlled by the proposed measures varied from one site to another.