ABSTRACT
Although it is not possible to eliminate microorganisms, they can be reduced significantly by control procedures throughout the production and marketing chains. Feedstuffs, water, litter, manure, wild birds, and rodents are primary sources of contamination often spread during processing. Poultry are known to be carriers of a number of organisms pathogenic to humans. M. M. Galton and P. Arnstein have reported that "In the United States domestic fowl are the most frequent vehicle of dissemination in outbreaks of food-borne infections, and the Salmonellas, followed by paracolons, are the most important organisms implicated in these outbreaks." C. W. Nagel, in a study of the microflora of spoiled cut-up, tray-packed fryers from six different states, reported that from 103 isolates, 88 of the cultures belonged to the genus Pseudomonas, two belonged to the genus Seromonas, and 13 were of the Achromobacter-Alcaligenes group. Phosphates have been used to extend shelf-life by reducing bacteria counts.
