Investigation of Campylobacter Contamination in Retail Chicken Meat in Niigata Prefecture

Abstract

To investigate seasonal contamination of Campylobacter in retail chicken meat from May 2016 to April 2017, we qualitatively and quantitatively isolated Campylobacter spp. Twenty-seven samples of chicken meat were tested monthly and 324 samples of chicken meat were tested annually. Overall, 52% of chicken meat was contaminated with Campylobacter, the highest rate was 81% in September, the lowest rate was 3.7% in March, and a clear peak was observed in September. Twenty percent of positive chicken meat samples were able to quantify the presence of Campylobacter spp., with 5 to 55 cfu/g of Campylobacter. Although Campylobacter jejuni was detected monthly, Campylobacter coli was limited to May through October. The peak Campylobacter contamination rate in chicken meat did not seasonally coincide with the peak of the number of patients with foodborne illness from Campylobacter. There was no direct relation between the seasonality of patients and chicken meat contaminated with Campylobacter; however, it was thought that multiple factors were intricately connected.