Study of microbial contamination of broilers in modern abattoirs in Khartoum state

This study was carried out to investigate the contaminating microorganisms that can be found on the breast, legs and backs of broilers during processing. A total of 81 swab samples from 27 carcasses were collected randomly from chicken carcasses slaughtered at modern poultry abattoir in Khartoum State, the Sudan. The samples were taken from 9 Critical Control Points (CCPs), namely; after bleeding with feathers, after scalding, after defeathering, after evisceration, after spray wash, after chilling and packing, workers’ hand, knives and Scalding water. Total Viable Count (TVC) was carried for each sample besides isolation and identification of contaminating bacteria. The study revealed a statistically significant difference at P-value (p≤0.05) in the 9 CCPs between the legs, backs and breast respectively. The isolated bacteria were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus albus and Salmonella species. Sudanese abattoirs may reflect the hygienic status of chicken meat production in the developing countries and the implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) in poultry industry is extremely important, because it involves the constant monitoring of all steps of the process.