Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare a traditional whole carcass rinse and culture of an aliquot to an overnight incubation of the entire carcass in the rinse liquid.
Methods: On each of 5 replicate sample days (5 flocks), 8 broiler carcasses were collected after chilling in a commercial slaughter plant. Each carcass was subjected to a whole carcass rinse in 400 ml buffered peptone water (BPW). A 30 ml aliquot was removed and placed in sterile cups. Cups and carcasses in broth were both incubated (35°C, 24 h) to pre-enrich for Salmonella. All incubated pre-enrichment broths were selectively enriched in RV and TT broth (42°C, 24 h) from which XLT4 and BGS plates were streaked and incubated (35°C, 24 h). Suspect colonies were confirmed as Salmonella by biochemical and serological methods.
Results: Salmonella was found on significantly (P < 0.01) more carcasses when sampled by carcass enrichment (29+/40) compared to aliquot enrichment (4+/40). Three of five flocks were found to have 1 or 2 positive carcasses by aliquot enrichment; in those flocks every carcass was positive when fully enriched. Even in flocks where all aliquot enrichments were negative, some carcasses (1 or 4) were found to be positive.
Significance: A broiler carcass sampling method that includes enriching the entire carcass allows detection of Salmonella that can be missed by enriching only an aliquot of the rinsate providing a more sensitive method.