Microbiological consequences of skin removal prior to evisceration of broiler carcasses

The objective of this project was to determine if removal of skin prior to evisceration lowers the number of bacteria that can be recovered by whole carcass rinse or sponge sampling. Four experiments were conducted, two with each type of sampling (rinse or sponge). New York dressed carcasses obtained from a commercial broiler processing plant were aseptically skinned or left with skin intact. The carcasses were then aseptically eviscerated by hand. Carcasses were rinsed in 100 mL sterile water or sampled by moist sponge. When sampled by rinse, significantly fewer Campylobacter and total aerobic bacteria were recovered from carcasses that had been skinned prior to evisceration. When sampled by sponge, significantly fewer Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, coliform and total aerobic bacteria were recovered from the outer surface of carcasses without skin. No differences were noted for bacterial counts recovered from internal surfaces by sponge sampling. Similar trends were observed when carcasses were subjected to an inside and outside washing step after evisceration. Removal of skin and washing the carcass led to significantly less Campylobacter being recovered by whole carcass rinse compared to carcasses that were washed with the skin on. When sampled by sponge, incidence of Campylobacter and level of total aerobic bacterial counts were lower on the outer surface of skinned and washed carcasses than on washed carcasses with intact skin. Like the unwashed carcasses, no differences were noted for bacterial counts recovered from internal surfaces by sponge sampling. Although not commercially practical, it is possible to lower the level of Campylobacter on the outside of broiler carcasses by removal of the skin prior to evisceration.