Category Research project
  • Mikrobiologie

Development and implementation of technological procedures for the reduction of microbial contaminants in the poultry and pig slaughtering process

Project status
Completed
Project start
Nov 2020
Project end
Jun 2024
Acronym
KontRed
Department
Biologische Sicherheit

Description and Objective

The overall objective is to reduce the microbiological burden of zoonotic agents on carcasses at the end of the slaughter line by implementing new technical procedures from a hygiene point of view. The safety of poultry meat and pork products is thereby improved and consumer confidence sustainably strengthened. The following goals are in the foreground: Optimization of existing processes in the poultry / pig slaughter to reduce the incidence and transfer of zoonotic agents; development, implementation and validation of biological, chemical, physical and technical control and intervention measures for the reduction of zoonotic agents in the slaughter and processing line of poultry / pork; development of a validation model to test the efficiency of procedures and measures for the reduction of zoonotic agents in the slaughter and processing process of poultry / pork.

Result

In the “Status-quo study”, a reduction in the bacterial groups examined (aerobic mesophilic colony count, E. coli and Campylobacter) on the carcasses was generally observed during the course of meat production. The highest load was measured on carcasses directly after bleeding. Scalding, followed by plucking, led to a significant reduction in the load. An increase was observed after evisceration of the carcasses. However, the load decreased again during the subsequent processing steps until after chilling. The findings of the "Status-quo study", which, although the results are comparable to those of older studies, are essential for the evaluation of new intervention procedures based on the technology currently available, were made available to the consortium for the development of investigation plans and for the planned intervention studies and published in a scientific article. Studies on the treatment of broiler carcasses with hot water showed a reduction in Campylobacter and Salmonella of around 1 log10 CFUshort forColony Forming Units. With a cold treatment before the final air cooling, Campylobacter could be reduced by approx. 0.5 Log10 CFUshort forColony Forming Units. The data from these investigations were published in a scientific article. With Salmonella phages, load reductions of up to 3 Log10 were achieved, while Campylobacter phages showed a narrow host spectrum and low lytic activity.
Type of project

Third-party funded project

Research focus

Gesundheit von Mensch, Tier und Umwelt (One Health) / Forschung zur Sicherheit nationaler und internationaler Warenketten

Organisational units and partners

Lead specialist group: Lebensmittelhygiene und -technologie, Warenketten und Produktschutz (41)
Contact persons: Dr. Niels Bandick, Dr. Stefan Hertwig, PDshort foroutside lecturer Dr. Felix Reich
Involved BfR partners: Experimentelle Toxikologie und ZEBET
External partner: Institut für Biometrie, Epidemiologie und Informationsverarbeitung, Institut für Lebensmittelsicherheit und -hygiene, Institut für Tier- und Umwelthygiene, Institut für Lebensmittelqualität und -sicherheit, Institut für Lebensmittelhygiene, Herrmann-Rietschel-Institut, Institut für Energietechnik, Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe, DVGW - Technologiezentrum Wasser, Abteilung Technologie und Wirtschaftlichkeit, Frankenförder Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Tönnies Lebensmittel GmbH & Co. KG, SKS Sondermaschinen- und Fördertechnikvertriebs- GmbH

Funding body and grant number

Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft
281C104B18

Publications

http://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1429756, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2024.110610, http://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.13153, http://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11092298, http://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1354696

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