Opportunities North America European Union Australia Scott M. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Microbial Interventions In Poultry Processing Worldwide: Successes and Opportunities

Scott M. Russell, Ph.D. Professor Poultry Science Department The University of Georgia

GA Poultry Conference 2010

North America European Union Australia

Topics covered

• Studies discussed
• Reasons why we differ

– Sampling differences – Intervention differences

• The data obtained for the U.S.,

European Union, and Australia

• Implications
• Global importance

Studies conducted

• Scientific Report of the European Food Safety

Authority, 2010

– Analysis of the baseline survey on the prevalence of Campylobacter in broiler batches and of Campylobacter and Salmonella on broiler carcasses in the EU. Part A: Campylobacter and Salmonella prevalence estimates for 2008. EFSA Journal, Vol. 8(3):1503, Parma, Italy.

• The United States Department of Agriculture, Food

Safety Inspection Service, Office of Public Health Science, Microbiology Division

– The Nationwide Microbiological Baseline Data Collection Program: Young Chicken Survey. July 2007 – July 2008

• Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)

– Coordinating agency for a baseline survey to obtain information on the likelihood of live chickens being contaminated on-farm with Salmonella and Campylobacter

Importance

• These data serve to demonstrate

the dramatic differences in approaches used around the world and how these approaches affect the safety of poultry products in these areas

Sampling Methods

• North America:

– Whole carcass rinse – 400 mL buffered peptone water

• European Union:

– 3 - 25 g neck skin samples from 3 different birds – Pool them – Mix with diluent and test

– Cox et al. 2009 found that, on many carcasses, the neck skin method picked up the Salmonella, but none was found in the carcass rinse for that carcass and in other cases, the reverse occurred – Some countries in EU, China, Russia and other so called “Salmonella negative” countries:

– Burn breast skin with torch or sterilize with iodine – Use a sterile coring bit to drill deep into breast and collect sample

• Never Salmonella positive!!!

Methods comparison

Cox et al. (2009)

Methods comparison

Cox et al. (2009)

Sampling Methods

• At first glance, the methods seem to be

similar in terms of sensitivity for the pre-IOBW samples

• The neck skin method appears more

sensitive on post-chill samples

• However, upon closer inspection,

different carcasses that were positive for Salmonella were detected using the two different methods

Intervention Differences

Breeders

• U.S. approach

– Some companies vaccinate for Salmonella – CE is not effective because undefined cultures are not allowed

• European approach

– Many countries use vaccination and/or competitive exclusion – Three (Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands) test all breeder flocks for Salmonella

• If a flock tests positive, it is slaughtered

Breeders

• For European countries that kill all

Salmonella positive breeders:

• Still have 3 to 6% positive for Salmonella
• These countries do not produce as many

chickens a year as a small town in Georgia!

– Sweden produces 72.1 million chickens/yr – Athens, GA produces 156 million chickens/yr

• Thus, in the US, the size of the industry

makes this approach completely impossible

Growout

• U.S. approach

– Some companies vaccinate for Salmonella – CE is not effective because undefined cultures are not allowed

• European approach

– Many countries use vaccination and/or competitive exclusion – In countries where they slaughter Salmonella positive flocks, the number of chickens in these flocks with Salmonella is very low

Growout

• U.S. approach

–We are allowed to use antibiotics for therapeutic purposes and as a growth promoting

• European approach

–Although some antibiotics are allowed to be used for therapeutic purposes, they use them sparingly and they have banned most growth promoting antibiotics

From: Casewell et al. (2003) “Following the ban of all food animal growth-promoting antibiotics by Sweden in 1986, the EU banned avoparcin in 1997 and bacitracin, spiramycin, tylosin, and Virginiamycin in 1999” “There has been an INCREASE in human infection from vancomycin resistant Enterococci in Europe” “The ban on growth promoting antibiotics has, however, revealed that these agents had IMPORTANT prophylactic activity and their withdrawal is now associated with a deterioration in animal health, including increased diarrhea, weight loss, and mortality” “A directly attributable effect of these infections is the increase in usage of therapeutic antibiotics in food animals….all of which are of direct importance in human medicine” “The theoretical and political benefit of the widespread ban of growth promoters needs to be more carefully weighed against the increasingly apparent adverse consequences”

Pickers

• Rubber fingers in pickers:

– Squeeze carcasses, making feces come

• ut

– Rub feces on skin around and cross- contaminate from carcass to carcass

• Can significantly increase Salmonella

prevalence and Campylobacter numbers

• Campy is found in high numbers in the

ceca, which is expressed during picking

The effect of picking – In the U.S:

• Spreads pathogens and increases

prevalence

• This problem is eliminated by chemical

intervention later on – In E.U. and Australia:

• Spreads pathogens and increases

prevalence

• This problem is NOT corrected later on

and the consumer suffers from it

Inside/outside bird washer and all other washers – In the U.S: – Post-pick washer, IOBW, final bird washer

• Chlorine is often used
• Organic acids may be used as

processing aids

• These chemicals prevent cross-

contamination

–In Europe:

• No chemicals are allowed in the plant
• Cross-contamination is unchecked

Online Reprocessing

• Trisodium phosphate
• Sanova (acidified sodium chlorite)
• ClO2
• HOCL (TomCo)
• Parasafe (Inspexx 100)
• Bromotize
• FreshFx
• Cecure (cetylpyridinium chloride)

Online Reprocessing

• Can reduce pathogens

significantly

• Reduced Salmonella in one plant

by 83%!!

• Contact time is short (2 minutes)
• Chemicals are very high tech, fast

acting, powerful, and effective

Poultry Chiller Interventions

Almost all plants in the U.S. use immersion chillers

Immersion chilling as an Intervention

• Research indicates:

–Proper use of chlorine or peracetic acid is essential to reducing Salmonella –Most studies demonstrate that the chiller can cut Salmonella incidence by 50-70% if operating properly –Biggest hurdle available –Contact time

Almost all plants in the E.U. use air chillers

EU Air Chilling

–Can allow cross- contamination as air moves rapidly over carcasses and transmits bacteria –No chemicals are used to eliminate pathogens

Canadian Air Chilling

–Chemical dips are used prior to entry into the chiller –Prevents cross- contamination and lowers pathogens on carcasses

U.S. versus E.U.

Percentage of carcasses positive for Salmonella at rehang and post-chill in U.S. poultry plants

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Rehang (front end of plant) Post-Chill Percentage of carcasses positive for Salmonella

Interpretation

• The U.S. is doing an exceptional job using interventions that

are able to reduce Salmonella prevalence by 35.5% during slaughter

• Three important observations may be made here:
• 1) The percentage of post-chill carcasses that are

contaminated with Salmonella in the E. U. is 10.51% higher than in the U.S.

• 2) Salmonella increases during slaughter in European

slaughter facilities (the latest data indicate that live broilers are between 3 and 6% positive for Salmonella and goes up to 15.7% during processing, but decreases dramatically in U.S. slaughter facilities

• 3) The variance in percentage of Salmonella positive

carcasses is very low in facilities in the U.S. demonstrating that, in the U.S., processors are able to control these bacteria

Number of Salmonella cells/mL of carcass rinse on Salmonella positive broiler carcasses at rehang and post- chill in U.S. poultry plants

0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 Rehang (front end of plant) Post-Chill Average number of Salmonella/mL of rinse

Interpretation

• U.S. processing facilities, the plants are doing an

exceptional job controlling the number of Salmonella cells per carcass

• The number of cells on post-chill carcasses is very

low with a range of 0.11 to 0.18 cells/carcass

• The variance is insignificant and indicates a high level
• f control
• This well below an infective dose of Salmonella
• Because of chemical interventions, Salmonella cells

are injured and unlikely to repair themselves during storage

Percentage of Campylobacter positive broiler chickens coming into the plant and exiting the chiller in the European Union

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00% Incoming birds Post-chill carcasses

Percentage of Positives

Interpretation

• Campylobacter prevalence in European Union plants increases during

processing

• This is easy to understand because no chemical interventions are used to

eliminate Campylobacter during processing

• Thus, any intestinal tearing during evisceration, cross-contamination during

scalding or picking, and any common points of contact where Campylobacter may come off of a positive carcass and be spread to subsequent negative carcasses all represent ways that Campylobacter may increase in these plants

• Because no chemicals are used during processing, it is impossible for the

slaughter plants to have any beneficial impact on Campylobacter on the final product

• The second point of interest is the enormous variability in the percentage of

carcasses positive for Campylobacter over the different countries in the E.U.

• The variance is between 2 and 100% positive for incoming birds and 4.6 to 100%

for finished post-chill carcasses

• This high variance means that there is very little control over these bacterial

populations and the values likely reflect the levels coming into the plant and cross-contamination, as opposed to any positive benefits the slaughter facility may be having

Percentage of carcasses positive for Campylobacter at rehang and post-chill in U.S. poultry plants

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Rehang (front end of plant) Post-Chill Percentage of carcasses positive for Campylobacter

Interpretation

• Chemical intervention in U.S. plants are able to

reduce Campylobacter prevalence by 60% during slaughter

• Three important observations may be made here:
• 1) The percentage of post-chill carcasses that are

contaminated with Campylobacter in the E. U. is 65% higher than in the U.S.

• 2) Campylobacter increases during slaughter in

European slaughter facilities, but decreases dramatically in U.S. slaughter facilities

• 3) The variance in percentage of Campylobacter

positive carcasses is much higher in European facilities, demonstrating a lack of control

Number of Campylobacter cells/mL of carcass rinse on Campylobacter positive broiler carcasses at rehang and post-chill in U.S. poultry plants

1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 Rehang (front end of plant) Post-Chill Average number of Campylobacter/mL of rinse

Interpretation

• In the U.S. processing facilities, the plants are

doing an exceptional job controlling Campylobacter and the number of cells on post-chill carcasses is very low with a range

• f 7.5 to 11.9 cells/carcass
• This is exceptional because Campylobacter
• n incoming birds is usually 100’s to 1,000’s
• f cells/mL of rinse initially
• The variance from carcass to carcass is

insignificant and indicates a high level of control

Percentage of Salmonella positive broiler carcasses exiting the chiller in the U.S. and European Union

0.00% 2.00% 4.00% 6.00% 8.00% 10.00% 12.00% 14.00% 16.00% 18.00% 20.00% Post-chill U.S. Post-chill E.U.

Percentage of Positives

Percentage of Campylobacter positive broiler carcasses exiting the chiller in the U.S. and European Union

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00% Post-chill U.S. Post-chill E.U.

Percentage of Positives

Interpretation

• There is no question that the U.S. is doing a superior

job in controlling Campylobacter and Salmonella on processed broiler chicken carcasses

• The difference between the approaches used by the

U.S. and Canada and the E.U. is evident because 65.14% fewer carcasses exiting the chiller in the U.S. are contaminated with Campylobacter

• Likewise 10.51% fewer carcasses exiting the chiller in

the U.S. are contaminated with Salmonella

• These reports indicate that the poultry industry in the

U.S. and Canada are able to control both Campylobacter and Salmonella in a holistic sense when compared to the processors in Europe

U.S. versus Australia

Percentage of carcasses positive for Campylobacter at the farm, pre-slaughter and post-chill in Australian poultry plants

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 On Farm Pre-Slaughter Post-Chill Percentage of carcasses positive for Campylobacter

Interpretation

• The most important observation is that

Campylobacter prevalence in Australian plants increases during processing

• Intestinal tearing during evisceration, cross-

contamination during scalding or picking, and any common points of contact where Campylobacter may come off of a positive carcass and be spread to subsequent negative carcasses all represent ways that Campylobacter may increase in these plants

• Without significant chemical intervention, this

is not surprising

Percentage of carcasses positive for Salmonella at the farm, pre-slaughter and post-chill in Australian poultry plants

0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 On Farm Pre-Slaughter Post-Chill

Percentage of Positives for Salmonella

Interpretation

• It is interesting that Salmonella cycles in the

flock and is high during growout

• In the last week or two before slaughter, the

levels of Salmonella begin to decrease

• This is why the level pre-slaughter was low
• During slaughter, the level of Salmonella

increases dramatically in Australian plants due to cross-contamination

• Chemical intervention is absolutely necessary

to prevent this from occurring

Percentage of Salmonella positive broiler carcasses exiting the chiller in the U.S., European Union, Australia

0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00 40.00 Post-chill U.S. Post-chill E.U. Post-chill Australia

Percentage of carcasses positive for Salmomella

Serious Problem

• Because the European model targets a specific

pathogen (Salmonella) and efforts are made the in field to eliminate it, these efforts have NO impact on Campylobacter

• Vaccines for Salmonella, competitive exclusion

cultures designed to control Salmonella will have NO effect on Campylobacter

• This means that this enormous cost associated with

efforts to control Salmonella will have to be doubled and adjusted for Campylobacter

• This will likely be unsuccessful as the science behind

controlling Campylobacter during breeding and growout is very limited

How do these approaches affect human food-borne illness? Sweden

Why do Europeans and Australians refuse to change their approach?

• Misunderstanding about perceived versus real danger
• Far more afraid of chemical contamination of food and its

impact than bacterial contamination

• In reality, problems with chemical adulteration and/or toxicity

are almost immeasurable (nonexistent)

• Problems with food-borne illness in Europe are enormous
• They simply refuse to look at reality
• The strong emotions evoked by the idea of chemicals in food

affects their decision making in a disproportionate way

• Billion dollar corporations in the U.S. have traveled to Europe

with reams and reams of toxicity data to try to get the EU commission to allow the use of their chemistry only to have them say NO

Conclusions:

Global Importance

• These profound differences in the way we

sample poultry products and use interventions during growout and processing have the following impact:

– Trade barriers (U.S. cannot ship to Europe or Russia right now and China is throwing up a barrier as well) – Lead to seriously false claims (China, Russia, France claim Salmonella free poultry) – Misperceptions among consumers lead to differences in price and preference which are based on misinformation – Much higher rates of food-borne illness in E.U. and Australia from Salmonella, but seriously high rates of Campylobacter infection