Impact of Rearing Conditions on the Microbiological Quality of Raw Retail Poultry Meat

Abstract

There is a gap in knowledge of microbiological quality in raw chicken products produced by nonconventional methods and no studies have reported the microbiological quality of turkeys produced under different rearing environments. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the microbiological quality of conventionally and organically reared whole chicken and turkey carcasses purchased from 3 retail outlets in Knoxville, Tenn., U.S.A. A total of 100 raw broiler chickens organically (n = 50) and 50 raw turkey carcasses consisting of 3 brands reared either conventionally (n = 25) or organically (n = 25) were evaluated. The FDA BAM protocol for rinsing poultry carcasses was used to enumerate of aerobic bacteria, Campylobacter, and Staphylococcus spp., and for qualitative analysis of Salmonella. Organic chickens from one brand had the highest average counts of aerobic bacteria, Staphylococcus spp. and Campylobacter (4.8, 4.8, and 4.7 Log10 CFU/mL rinsate, respectively) while the other organic brand had the lowest average counts (3.4, 3.3, and 3.1, respectively) of all 4 brands evaluated. The organic turkeys had the highest average counts of these same bacteria (4, 3.9, and 3.8, respectively) compared to the 2 brands of conventional turkeys evaluated. Salmonella (5% prevalence) was isolated only from organic chickens and turkeys. From these data, it appears that the microbiological quality of the raw product was not dependent on rearing conditions and, thus, it cannot be assumed that organic raw poultry is safer than conventionally raised poultry in terms of microbiological quality.

Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Associated with Organic Foods in the United States

“…Our study did not identify any outbreaks associated with organic meats; however, studies suggest that meat produced under organic conditions might be more likely to be contaminated with foodborne pathogens than meat from conventionally produced animals (7,24). At the same time, because antimicrobial treatment is prohibited for organically raised animals, it has been found that organically produced meats have a lower prevalence of contamination with antimicrobial resistant bacteria (24).…”

Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Campylobacter spp. in Oklahoma Conventional and Organic Retail Poultry

“…The recent increase in the consumption of organically raised poultry [ 30 ] due to the consumer assumption that organic poultry meat is of a better quality and more nutritious than the conventionally raised ones [ 31 ] raised concerns about the microbiological safety of organic meat. In a recent study in which the authors were trying to determine the impact of rearing conditions (conventional vs organic) on the microbiological quality of raw retail poultry, Campylobacter was highly prevalent on both rearing types and Salmonella was even higher under the organic rearing conditions [ 32 ]. The authors concluded that organic poultry should not be considered superior to conventionally produced one in relation to microbiological quality.…”

Awareness and Perceptions of Food Safety Risks and Risk Management in Poultry Production and Slaughter: A Qualitative Study of Direct-Market Poultry Producers in Maryland

“…The questions were developed using several different sources of information, including meetings with policymakers (MDA employees responsible for administering the Rabbit and Poultry On-Farm Processing Certification program), as well as informal conversations with three small poultry farmers in neighboring states who are professional contacts of the investigators. We also reviewed the existing food safety literature on the small-scale poultry supply chain [ 6 , 7 , 8 ], including the California study previously described [ 4 ] and the USDA-FSIS inspection criteria for poultry processing facilities [ 9 ].…”