Microbiological contamination in broiler– a narrative overview on recent data and documentation in routine slaughter

Abstract Poultry meat and its production are worldwide one major pillar of food production. As food from animals is always associated with microbiological contamination, there is a possible risk for consumers to be exposed to pathogenic microorganisms. It is therefore crucial to control microbiological contamination at all processing stages with appropriate measures. To assess the effectiveness of reduction measures integrated into the slaughtering process, a baseline of contamination needs to be defined. This review therefore aimed to address sampling techniques and units used to describe levels of contamination on broiler carcasses in routine slaughter by means of a narrative survey. Campylobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, Salmonella spp. and the total viable count were the contaminants of interest. In order to compare the selected studies and trials, the sampled matrix, sampling method, process step and unit had to be taken into account. However, the investigation shows a wide variety of sampling techniques within those factors, which hinders the comparability of results across different studies. Additionally, reporting of standard statistical metrics was not sufficient. This highlights the need to harmonise sampling techniques and reporting of methods from a scientific and practical perspective. Therefore, this review evaluated the sampling methods at each process step and for each sampled matrix separately and identified the missing statistical metrics. This is a prerequisite to select matrices and methods of main interest and draft a guide to ensure better data quality and comparison between studies in the future.