Bacteriological Quality of Fresh Broiler Chickens Traded in the Markets

A total of 50 random samples of freshly slaughtered broiler chickens were randomly collected from different private local poultry retailers in Port-Said Province, Egypt, and then transferred to Animal Health Research Institute. The study was conducted for the determination of the total colony counts, Enterobacteriaceae counts, total Staphylococcus aureus count, and total Escherichia coli count. In addition to the detection of Salmonella spp. The obtained results revealed that the total colony count ranged from 3.98 to 6.91 log cfu/g with a mean value of 6.33+5.59 log cfu/g and the Enterobacteriaceae counts ranged from 2.23 to 4.82 with a mean value of 4.21+3.52. Meanwhile, the incidence rate of S. aureus, E. coli, and salmonella in the examined samples was 10%, 70%, and 100%, respectively. The count of S. aureus ranged from 1 to 3 log cfu/g with a mean value of 2.47±1.61 log cfu/g and the E. coli count ranged from 2.11 to 3.74 log cfu/g with a mean value of 3±2.28 log cfu/g. The total colony counts were within the Egyptian Standard by 24% and exceed the standard by 76%. From the achieved results, it was concluded that chicken meat could be contaminated with several types of bacteria through slaughtering, handling, and cross-contamination in the market which affect the chicken meat quality and have public health hazards. The high contamination level of chicken meat indicates the poor hygienic measures applied during the slaughtering process and marketing.