WATT PoultryUSA - June 2011

»POULTRY LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE
“While very few companies place
emphasis at the front end of the plant,
opportunities exist there,” said Dr. Scott
Russell, University of Georgia professor of
food science.

“For example, prescald brushes are available to remove organic material from the birds before they enter the scalders. Chemical treatments in the scalders also have been found to be effective in reducing pathogen levels on carcasses,” Russell said. Also available are post-picking sprays, which remain on the carcasses during the evisceration process.

“In my opinion, the scalder is the most overlooked area in the processing plant for reductions in foodborne pathogens,” he concluded.

“In my opinion, the
scalder is the most
overlooked area in the
processing plant for re-
ductions in foodborne
pathogens.”
Scott Russell
University of Georgia

Evolving live-production
interventions

Food safety processes are increasingly approached in a holistic way, involving both processing and live-production interventions.

“Most companies have developed
strong live-production food safety best
practices,” Stewart-Brown said. “We
are still trying to come up with the right
ones and understand how those can be
monitored and run dependably.”
There are ebbs and ;ows in the ecosys-
tems of pathogens, including salmonella,
which result in unpredictable changes in
serotypes. This complicates the manage-
ment of live-production interventions.

“Reducing Salmonella in live produc-
tion is not easy at all,” he continued. “The
Salmonella serotypes change over time, and
that necessitates changes in the live-produc-
tion programs. It is an exercise in continuous
improvement at its optimal level.”
to change unpredictably in live-produc-
tion environments remains a challenge to
achieving consistent reductions there.

Changing serotypes are a
challenge

The fact that Salmonella serotypes tend

Focus on pathogens of human
significance

While roundtable members agreed that foodborne pathogens must be attacked everywhere, including in the processing and the live-production environments, one member said that meaningful progress in the future may require focusing on foodborne pathogens of human signi;cance.

“Europe has been working to revise its standards to focus on certain types of Salmonella, including Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium,” said Todd McAloon, Cargill’s vice president of technical services for global poultry. “I believe this is the right approach and the one the U.S. should take to combat Salmonella.”

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“I believe focusing on
pathogens of human
significance is the right
approach and is the one
the U.S. should take to
combat Salmonella.”
Todd McAloon, Cargill

A focus on pathogens of human significance works well in Europe where the emphasis in pathogen reduction is in live production. (Interventions in the plant reduce all microbes, while live-production interventions tend to be focused on speci;c organisms.) Such a focus would also ;t in the U.S., McAloon suggested, as more emphasis is placed on live-production interventions.