Research settles potential variance in performance of international broiler carcass sampling methods

As the world’s leading laboratory paddle blender for food microbiologists, Seward’s Stomacher^® 400 Circulator has been used in a recent evaluation of international sampling methods for the microbiological analysis of broiler carcasses after immersion chilling[1]. As a widespread pathogen, Salmonella can cause severe illness in humans. Global poultry industries have therefore deployed and maintained various food safety programmes to ensure that poultry is safe for consumption.

The sampling method used is a critical step in the analysis of hygiene indicator organisms during process and production of poultry. The use of different international sampling regimes and recovery techniques could lead to variation in detection within the same, or similar samples. A comparison of these methods was, therefore, undertaken to enable a better understanding of microbiological comparison data across countries, supporting international trade.

Different countries have adopted varying official protocols for the detection of Salmonella on poultry carcasses during the slaughtering process. The EU technique requires a 25 g sample of neck skin which is then processed in 225 mL of buffered peptone water in a Stomacher^® 400. The US method involves rinsing the carcass in 400 mL of buffered peptone and Stomaching the rinse fluid. However, the Brazilian technique uses the Stomacher^® to process samples taken from the skin, muscle from the wings, neck and pericloacal tissue.

As described in the recently published paper[1], the US, EU and Brazilian methods were found to be equivalent for the detection of Salmonella (P=<0.05). The US method was found to produce a higher recovery of hygiene indicator organisms. As such, methods required by national regulatory authorities are producing data which can be regarded as statistically similar. This contributes to the safety of international food trade and also to the development of the poultry industry as a whole. 

Food microbiology requires reproducible methodology and consistency in results. As the world’s most popular microbiology blender, the Stomacher^® is used to process more than 8 million samples per day and ensures the best possible sample for accurate microbiological analysis.

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