Salmonella sp. in broiler carcasses: quantification and evaluation of cross-contamination in hands and contact surfaces

• Grant number: 10/00639-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2010
• End date: December 31, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Jose Paes de Almeida Nogueira Pinto
• Grantee: Mayara Perna Assoni
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Foodborne diseases represent a serious problem of public health nowadays and Salmonella sp. is among the main etiological agents. Although it can be transmitted to the man by means of a wide range of food, special attention should be dedicated to broiler meat, once several salmonellosis cases and outbreaks caused by cross-contamination involving that kind of food, directly or indirectly, have been described in literature. In such cases, ready-to-eat meals may be contaminated from contact surfaces and/or hands of manipulators formerly contaminated with raw products, such as carcasses of broilers. Therefore, the objectives of the present work are: verifying the presence of Salmonella sp. in carcasses of broilers sold in the city of Botucatu/SP; quantifying the pathogen in the carcasses analyzed; analyzing the occurrence of cross-contamination in cut surfaces of different materials (wood, polyethylene and glass) and in the hands of the manipulator; studying the relation between Salmonella counts and the occurrence of that process. Such data may serve as subside for future studies of microbiological risk analysis involving broilers consumption and the expectancy of cross-contamination occurrence during its preparation. (AU)