Australia
28 April 2010
FSANZ (Food Surveillance Australia New Zealand) was the coordinating agency for a baseline survey to obtain information on the likelihood of live chickens being contaminated on-farm with Salmonella and Campylobacter and also the likelihood of the chicken being contaminated after it has been slaughtered. Salmonella and Campylobacter are the two main bacteria that can be present on raw chicken and cause illness if the chicken isn’t cooked or handled correctly.
As in most poultry producing countries, Campylobacter and, to a lesser extent Salmonella, were frequently found in samples tested.
This study measured both the prevalence and where appropriate, concentration, of Salmonella and Campylobacter at three points along the chicken meat supply chain, on-farm, just prior to processing and at the end of primary processing (the slaughtering process). The percentage results for Salmonella indicate the percentage of samples that were positive for all types of Salmonella as well as the percentage that were positive for pathogenic (disease causing) types.
Overall, the results indicate that a large percentage of the live chickens entering the processing plants are infected with Campylobacter (84%) and to a much lesser extent, Salmonella (13% with 7.5% positive for pathogenic types). Chicken carcass samples taken at the end of the slaughtering process gave a similar prevalence for Campylobacter (84%). However, the samples tested were higher for the prevalence of Salmonella (37% with 22% positive for pathogenic types). The levels of Campylobacter on the carcass were reasonably high and for Salmonella, low. These results are similar to the results from a retail baseline microbiological survey carried out in 2005/2006 in South Australia and New South Wales, which looked at contamination levels in raw poultry, when it is purchased from a supermarket, butcher or speciality chicken shop. The study found that raw poultry is likely to be contaminated with Campylobacter (90%) and to a lesser extent Salmonella (43% with 13% positive for pathogenic types).