SUMMARY —Samples of deboned meat from broiler necks and backs, whole fowl and turkey racks were obtained from commercial sources and examined for total aerobic counts, fecal coliforms, salmonellae, Clostridium perfringens, coagulase positive staphylococci and psychrotolerant microorganisms. The raw materials were either deboned immediately after birds were processed (conventional processing) or held in the plants at 3–5°C for 5 days prior to deboning (delayed processing). The storage studies were conducted by holding the deboned meat at 3°C for 0, 3, 6 and 12 days and at ‐15°C for periods of 3, 6 and 9 months. The total aerobic counts of delayed processed samples were shown to be higher than conventionally processed meat and remained the same throughout the storage period. In all instances, the total aerobic counts increased during the storage at 3°C. The MPN fecal coliforms were high for all samples and remained relatively the same throughout the storage period at 3°C. Freezing resulted in a significant reduction of fecal coliforms. Only six out of 54 samples were contaminated with salmonellae while four showed the presence of C. perfringens and none was contaminated with S. aureus. Pseudomonas, Achromobac‐ter and Flavobacterium dominated the psychrotolerant genera isolated in this investigation.
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