Poultry is one of the largest sources of animal-based protein in the United States. Poultry processing has grown from a small local network of plants to nearly 500 plants nationwide. Two of the most persistent bacteria in poultry processing are Salmonella and Campylobacter. It was not until the introduction of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point systems in 1996 that major efforts to reduce bacterial contamination were developed. Traditionally, chlorine has been the industry standard for decontaminating chicken meat. However, antimicrobials such as peracetic acid, cetylpyridinium chloride, and acidified sodium chlorite have replaced chlorine as primary antimicrobials. Despite current interventions, the emergence of stress-tolerant and biofilm-forming Salmonella and Campylobacter is of primary concern. In an effort to offset growing tolerance from microbes, novel techniques such as cold plasma treatment, electrostatic spraying, and bacteriophage-based applications have been investigated as alternatives to conventional treatments, while new chemical antimicrobials such as Amplon and sodium ferrate are investigated as well. This review provides an overview of poultry processing in the United States, major microbes in poultry processing, current interventions, emerging issues, and emerging technologies in antimicrobial treatments.

United States is the largest producer and the second largest exporter of broiler meat in the world. In the US, broiler production is largely converting to antibiotic-free programs which has caused an increase in morbidity and mortality within broiler farms. Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens are two important pathogenic bacteria readily found in the broiler environment and result in annual billion-dollar losses from colibacillosis, gangrenous dermatitis, and necrotic enteritis. The broiler industry is in search of non-antibiotic alternatives including novel vaccines, prebiotics, probiotics, and housing management strategies to mitigate production losses due to these diseases. This review provides an overview of the broiler industry and antibiotic free production, current challenges, and emerging research on antibiotic alternatives to reduce pathogenic microbial presence and improve bird health.

Campylobacter is one of the main bacterial pathogens that cause campylobacteriosis in the United States. Poultry is considered a major reservoir for the transmission of Campylobacter to humans.

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common causes of foodborne human gastroenteritis in the developed world. This bacterium colonizes in the ceca of chickens, spreads throughout the poultry production chain, and contaminates poultry products. Despite numerous on farm intervention strategies and developments in post-harvest antimicrobial treatments, C. jejuni is frequently detected on broiler meat products. This indicates that C. jejuni is evolving over time to overcome the stresses/interventions that are present throughout poultry production and processing. The development of aerotolerance has been reported to be a major survival strategy used by C. jejuni in high oxygen environments. Recent studies have indicated that C. jejuni can enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state or develop biofilm in response to environmental stressors such as refrigeration and freezing stress and aerobic stress. This review provides an overview of different stressors that C. jejuni are exposed to throughout the poultry production chain and the genotypic and phenotypic survival mechanisms, with special attention to aerotolerance, biofilm formation, and development of the VBNC state.

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli causes one of the most detrimental bacterial diseases to the United States poultry industry, colibacillosis. Colibacillosis leads to decreased performance, early mortality, and subsequent production loss.

In poultry processing, Salmonella and Campylobacter contaminations are major food safety concerns. Peracetic acid (PAA) is an antimicrobial commonly used in commercial poultry processing to reduce pathogen prevalence so as to meet the USDA-FSIS performance standards. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter on broiler meat in various steps of commercial poultry processing in plants that use PAA. Post-pick, pre-chill, post-chill, and drumstick chicken samples were collected from three processing plants and mechanically deboned meat (MDM) was collected from two of the three plants. Each plant was sampled thrice, and 10 samples were collected from each processing step during each visit. Among the 420 samples, 79 were contaminated with Salmonella and 155 were contaminated with Campylobacter. Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination on the post-pick samples averaged 32.2%. Significant reductions in Salmonella and Campylobacter were observed in pre-chill to post-chill samples, where the prevalence was reduced from 34% and 64.4% to nondetectable limits and 1.1%, respectively (p < 0.001). Salmonella and Campylobacter remained undetectable on the drumstick samples in all three processing plants. However, the prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter on MDM was similar to the post-pick prevalence, which suggests substantial cross-contamination from post-chill to MDM.