Treatment with hot water was not effective to destroy Salmonella organisms attached to the feathers and body surface of chickens. This is a cause of the high rate of Salmonella contamination of the resulting chicken meat.
The Salmonella organisms detected numbered 157 strains, which were classified into 11 types. Those types isolated from inside the dressing plant were well agreeable with those from the feathers and body surface of the chickens, but were not closely related to those from the feed given.
The rate of Salmonella detection was high when heat treatment had been done at 60°C or below, and low when this treatment had been performed at 62°C and over. It was 63.3% among chickens raised on the floor and 15.5% among chickens kept in the battery. Besides, it was higher in meat derived from birds raised on the floor and treated at 66°C than in meat from birds kept in the battery and treated at 57°C.
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