Evisceration is the “operation contributing most to the spread of Campylobacter contamination” according to a study “Prevalence of and risk factors for Campylobacter ssp contamination of broiler chicken carcasses at the slaughterhouse”, by Oliver Hue et al. The findings of the paper, published in the journal Food Microbiology, could be used in HACCP risk management techniques, said the authors.
Factors likely to increase the risk of campylobacter in poultry processing included:
Chicken batches slaughtered later in the schedule
Pre-thinning flocks prior to slaughtering
Temperatures in the evisceration room topping 15C
Dirty marks visible on carcasses
Transport crates acting as vectors
The length of time between thinning and slaughtering
The more batches that go for slaughtering
Contamination also occurs during the evisceration process, when the rupture of the viscera releases high numbers of bacteria. A “systematic washing procedure might be an effective means of significantly reducing bacteria numbers on carcasses” say the researchers
Source: Hue, O., Le Bouquin, S., Laisney, M.-J., Allain, V., Lalande, F., Petetin, I., Rouxel, S., Quesne, Ségolène, Gloaguen, P.-Y., Picherot, Mélanie, Santolini, J., Salvat, G., Bougeard, S., Chemaly, M. Prevalence of and risk factors for Campylobacter spp. contamination of broiler chicken carcasses at the slaughterhouse, Food Microbiology (2010), doi: 10.1016/j.fm.2010.06.004