Michael T Musgrove

..Serotypes (n = 30) recovered were Anatum, Heidelberg, Infantis, Kentucky, Mbandanka, and Typhimurium. This work demonstrated that nest run egg carts may serve as reservoirs for Salmonella in the shell egg processing environment...

..However, based on data generated in this study, Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 probably does not constitute a food threat agent in liquid eggs...

..and Salmonella spp. Pseudomonas spp. was the only non-Enterobacteriaceae identified by our methods. This work demonstrates that nest run egg carts serve as reservoirs for Enterobacteriaceae in the shell egg processing environment...

..All of the genera and species were recovered less frequently from fully processed eggs than from unwashed eggs, indicating that shell eggs are less contaminated with bacteria as a result of commercial washing procedures...

..Higher concentrations of Salmonella were recovered from preprocessed than from in-process or ready-to-pack eggs. These data indicate that current commercial practices decrease microbial contamination of egg shell surfaces...

..Very few washed egg samples were contaminated with any of these bacteria. These data provide useful information on the effectiveness of processing in removing microorganisms from commercial shell eggs...

..Chlorination of flock drinking water at the levels tested in this study was not effective in decreasing colonization by Campylobacter spp. under commercial production practices presently used in the United States...

..We continue to seek additional information to understand the decline in campylobacteriosis and to create a risk assessment model for Campylobacter spp. transmission through this well defined system...

..These data suggest that rooster semen may serve as a vehicle for transmission of Campylobacter to the reproductive tract of the hen and subsequently to the fertile egg...

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..The production of Campylobacter-positive semen could provide a route in addition to fecal-oral for the horizontal transmission of Campylobacter from the rooster to the reproductive tract of the hen...

..The results indicated that although the physical quality factors monitored in this study decreased during storage, egg quality was still acceptable beyond current recommended shelf life guidelines...

..3%). For some eggs, Salmonella was only recovered by one of the methods. Use of both approaches in the same experiment increased sampling sensitivity, although in most cases, crushing provided more sensitive Salmonella recovery...

..1%). Only 1% of the E. coli isolates were resistant to 4 antimicrobial agents. These data indicate that shell eggs can harbor resistant foodborne and commensal bacteria; among Salmonella isolates, resistance was serotype-dependent...

..Findings from the present study indicate that EO water can effectively be used in inside-outside bird washers to decrease the population of spoilage bacteria and yeasts on processed broiler carcasses...

..Although current pasteurization guidelines are based on Salmonella lethality, the results of this study reiterate the need to revisit the guidelines to determine the effectiveness for other pathogenic species...

..Although significant differences were found between white and brown shell eggs and production methods, average values for quality attributes varied without one egg type consistently maintaining the highest or lowest values...

..The findings of this study can be used in assessing the sources of bacterial contamination in egg processing and in developing more effective, targeted cleaning programs for processing equipment and facilities...

..However, both systems were able to correctly identify C. famata, the species most often isolated throughout egg storage...

..In this experiment, blood in the albumen of table eggs contributed to the survival and growth of Salmonella Typhimurium inoculated into egg albumen...

..However, the CR technique was more efficient for recovery of Enterobacteriaceae from postprocess eggs. Stage of shell egg processing may be an important consideration when choosing egg sampling methods...

..Further work with eggs that represent a greater range of shell strengths could provide a clearer indication of the interaction of shell strength and Salmonella Enteritidis contamination...

..After chilling, the proportions of Campylobacter-positive carcasses from different producers ranged from 21.0 to 40.9%, which is lower than in other studies, and possible reasons are considered...

..However, environmental contamination with Campylobacter does not appear to be the sole contributing factor...

..The large numbers of non-Campylobacter species that inhabit the intestinal tract may out-compete Campylobacter during enrichment, confounding detection...

..The current cultural methods may not be adequate for recovering low numbers of Campylobacter from dry samples. Campylobacter may be present but culturally undetectable in the commercial hatchery and hatchery environment...

..At this point, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions about how rigid SSOPs should be for the shell egg processing industry...

..96 log 10 cfu/g cecal contents vs. 5.03 log 10 cfu/g cecal contents). These results can be useful in developing intervention strategies to reduce chicken colonization by Salmonella and Campylobacter...

..Commercially washed eggs were significantly less contaminated than were unwashed eggs for the populations monitored...

..These data suggest that traffic patterns for the movement of eggs and materials through the plant should be reevaluated so that cross-contamination is reduced...

..Overall, it would appear that a postscald treatment gentle enough not to alter the carcass appearance or meat quality would not effectively lower Campylobacter, E. coli, or coliform bacteria counts...

..Determining critical contaminating sources and following the movement of Salmonella through integrated poultry operations will help researchers and the industry develop practical intervention strategies...

..Campylobacter levels recovered by both methods averaged 0.9 log CFU/ml. The sampling of weep fluid was a simple, effective means of detecting this important human enteropathogen on broiler carcasses...

..Campylobacter colonization of the reproductive tract of the hen could enable vertical transmission of Campylobacter from the hen to the chick...

..Further investigation is needed to determine the route of contamination and if the presence of Campylobacter within the rooster leads to contamination of the broiler offspring via the fertilized egg...

..The rapid movement of Campylobacter to internal organs following both oral and intracloacal inoculation may be significant, particularly if it persists in these organs as reservoirs throughout the 65-wk life cycle of breeding birds...

..This effect is associated with reduced sperm viability and is therefore not a practical treatment of reducing Campylobacter in semen. It appears alternative methods will be needed to eliminate Campylobacter from poultry semen...