Salmonella spp. are among the most common foodborne pathogens, and increase in the occurrence of antimicrobial drug-resistant Salmonella poses a seve

Campylobacter is one of the leading cause of foodborne illness in the US and worldwide, especially linked to poultry and poultry products. In recent

Peracetic acid (PAA) is commonly used as an antimicrobial aid during poultry processing to reduce the pathogen load on poultry and poultry products. However, limited research is available on the effects of pH on the efficacy of PAA against Salmonella and Campylobacter. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of PAA in reducing Salmonella and Campylobacter populations on chicken wings adjusted to various pH levels. Chicken wings (0.454 kg each) were inoculated with nalidixic acid–resistant (200 ppm) Salmonella Typhimurium (∼7 log10 cfu/mL) and gentamicin-resistant (200 ppm) Campylobacter coli (∼6–7 log10 cfu/mL). Inoculated wings were treated with PAA by immersion for 10 s or 60 min at 4°C to 6°C. The treatments included 50 ppm (0.005%) and 500 ppm (0.05%) PAA at 3 pH levels (8.2, 10, and 11) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH, pH 11). Surviving populations of Salmonella and Campylobacter were determined by sampling the chicken wings after treatments. Irrespective of concentration and pH of PAA, higher (P ≤ 0.05) reductions of Salmonella were observed subsequent to 60 min exposure as compared with 10 s of immersion. Immersion time and the higher pH of antimicrobial solutions did not affect (P > 0.05) the antimicrobial efficacy of PAA (50 or 500 ppm) against Campylobacter. The antimicrobial efficacy of PAA was not affected by pH of the antimicrobial solutions, and longer exposure time and higher PAA concentrations improve the antimicrobial efficacy.

Salmonella and Campylobacter are common bacterial hazards causing foodborne illnesses worldwide. A large proportion of Salmonella and Campylobacter illnesses are attributed to contaminated poultry products that are mishandled or under cooked. Processing interventions such as chilling and post-chill dip are critical to reducing microbial contamination of poultry. A comprehensive search of the literature published between 2000 and 2021 was conducted in the databases Web of Science, Academic Search Complete, and Academic OneFile. Studies were included if they were in English and investigated the effects of interventions against Salmonella and/or Campylobacter on whole carcasses and/or parts during the chilling or post-chill stages of poultry processing. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed using the "meta" package in the R programming language. Subgroup analyses were assessed according to outcome measure reported, microorganism tested, processing stage assessed, and chemical treatment used. The results included 41 eligible studies. Eighteen studies reported results of 28 separate interventions against Salmonella and 31 reported results of 50 separate interventions against Campylobacter. No significant difference (P> 0.05) was observed when comparing the combined mean difference of all interventions targeting Salmonella to the combined mean difference of all interventions targeting Campylobacter or when comparing chilling times within each pathogen subgroup. For analyses examining antimicrobial additives, peroxyacetic acid (PAA) had the largest reduction against Salmonella population regardless of chilling time (P< 0.05). PAA also had the largest reduction against Campylobacter population and prevalence during primary chilling (P< 0.01). Air chilling showed a lower reduction for Campylobacter than any immersion chilling intervention (P< 0.05). Chilling time and antimicrobial used during poultry processing had varying effects depending on the pathogen and outcome measure investigated (concentration or prevalence). High heterogeneity and low sample numbers in most analyses suggest that more high-quality research that is well-designed and has transparent reporting of methodology and results is needed to corroborate the results.

Salmonella is one of the top causes for bacterial foodborne infections in the United States, emphasizing the importance of controlling this pathogen for protecting public health. Poultry and poultry products are commonly associated with Salmonella, and interventions during production and processing are necessary to manage the risk of infection due to consumption of poultry products. In recent times, the demand for organic and antibiotic-free poultry has increased owing to consumer perceptions and concerns of increasing prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) pathogens. However, the microbiological effect of these management practices is not clear. This study was conducted to determine the difference in the AMR of Salmonella isolated from poultry processed conventionally and organically. Fecal samples, carcass rinses, and environmental samples were collected over 1 year and analyzed for the prevalence of Salmonella and AMR. Results of this experiment showed that organic chickens were associated with statistically higher levels of Salmonella during early processing steps. However, no difference in Salmonella prevalence was observed between organic and conventional carcasses postchill. In addition, for most antimicrobial agents tested, prevalence of AMR Salmonella in conventional processing was lower in this study than was reported by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for chickens at slaughter. These observations indicate that organic methods may introduce greater risk of Salmonella contamination; however, proper interventions during processing can abate this risk. In addition, this study supports the assertion that raising chickens without the use of antibiotics may result in lower prevalence of AMR Salmonella. Higher prevalence of Salmonella was observed in organic broilers during early processing steps. There were no differences in Salmonella prevalence between organic and conventional processing postchill. Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was lower in conventionally than in organically processed broilers.

Historically, local milk production in Senegal has struggled to keep up with the demands of consumers, so there has been a heavy reliance on imported milk and milk products. More recently, efforts have been made to improve local dairy production by establishing large, organized dairies that collect milk from rural production areas and developing small-scale processing units, such as mini dairies. The local dairy value chain in Senegal consists of (1) informal collection systems where farmers commonly deliver milk directly to dairies; (2) traditional and artisanal processing using simple equipment and techniques; and (3) short local marketing and sale circuits. Most West African dairy sectors are dominated by raw, unpasteurized milk or traditional, spontaneously fermented milk products, such as lait caillé in Senegal, sold through small-scale channels without a cold chain, so the risk of food safety hazards may be increased. Microbiological, chemical, and physical hazards have been found in milk and milk products across West Africa. There is a need to educate milk producers, small-scale processors, and vendors on the importance of refrigerating milk immediately after milking as well as maintaining the cold chain until the milk is heat treated and, subsequently, until the milk is marketed to the consumer. However, without assistance, obtaining the equipment necessary for cold storage and processing of milk can be challenging.