Assessment of sodium dichloroisocyanurate in the control of microbiological cross-contamination in broiler carcass immersion chilling systems

Commercial immersion chilling systems used in poultry processing are a major source in the cross-contamination of carcasses with pathogenic microorganisms. In the current study, the efficacy of a chlorine based bactericidal compound, sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NADCC), to control contamination between carcasses was compared to the more traditional sodium hypochlorite solutions in a simulated carcass immersion chilling system. The addition of either sodium dichloroisocyanurate or sodium hypochlorite to the immersion chill tank water at concentrations of 50 ppm or more significantly reduced total aerobic mesophilic (37C) and psychrophilic (22C) counts when compared to corresponding untreated water samples in which dressed broiler carcasses had been immersed (P < 0.01). Both compounds significantly reduced the numbers of fecal coliforms and thermophilic campylobacters in the immersion water samples compared to corresponding control samples (P < 0.01). In contrast to the control water samples, salmonellae were not detected in immersion water samples treated with either of the chlorine based compounds.