Prevalence of Campylobacter within a Swine Slaughter and Processing Facility

Abstract

In this work, the occurrence of Campylobacter in a swine slaughter and processing facility was studied. Thirty composite carcass samples, representing 360 swine carcasses, were taken immediately after exsanguination, immediately after polishing, after the final wash, and after overnight chilling at 2 degrees C. Thirty matching composite rectal samples were also taken immediately after exsanguination, and 60 nonmatching individual colon samples were collected from the same lot of swine during evisceration. Also, 72 environmental samples were collected from equipment used in the slaughter operation (42 samples) and the processing operation (30 samples). Campylobacter was isolated by direct plating on Campy-Line agar (CLA) or Campy-Cefex agar (CCA), as well as by Bolton broth enrichment and subsequent inoculation onto CLA or CCA. For all four recovery methods combined, Campylobacter was detected on 33% (10 of 30) of the composite carcasses immediately after exsanguination, 0% (0 of 30) after polishing, 7% (2 of 30) immediately before chilling, and 0% (0 of 30) after overnight chilling. The pathogen was recovered from 100% (30 of 30) of the composite rectal samples and 80% (48 of 60) of the individual colon samples. Campylobacter was detected in 4.8% (2 of 42) and 3.3% (1 of 30) of the slaughter and processing equipment samples, respectively. The recovery rate achieved with direct plating on CLA was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those achieved with the other three recovery methods. For the 202 isolates recovered from all of the various samples tested, Campylobacter coli was the predominant species (75%) and was followed by Campylobacter spp. (24%) and Campylobacter jejuni (1%). These results indicate that although Campylobacter is highly prevalent in the intestinal tracts of swine arriving at the slaughter facility, this microorganism does not progress through the slaughtering operation and is not detectable on carcasses after overnight chilling.

Pet Dogs and Chicken Meat as Reservoirs ofCampylobacterspp. in Barbados

“…C. coli was the most common species isolated from pigs. This is consistent with the findings of most investigations of the carriage of campylobacters in swine (53,63,69,75). Nevertheless, there are also reports of a high prevalence of C. jejuni in pigs (32,91).…”

Determination of the cytotoxic activity of Campylobacter strains isolated from bovine and swine carcasses in north-eastern Poland

“…Despite the high rate of Campylobacter spp. isolation from the intestine contents reaching 53.9% in cattle (Nesbakken et al 2003) and up to 100% in swine (Pearce et al 2003), the level of contamination of bovine and swine carcasses stands at a much lower level. Wieczorek and Osek (2010) confirmed the presence of Campylobacter spp.…”

Campylobacter

“…The rapid and sensitive detection of C. jejuni is necessary for the maintenance of a safe food/water supply in China and the real-time PCR assay provides a specific, sensitive and rapid method for quantitative detection of C. jejuni. Pearce et al [124] reported that although Campylobacter is highly prevalent in the intestinal tracts of swine arriving at the slaughter facility, this microorganism does not progress through the slaughtering operation and is not detectable on carcasses after overnight chilling. Sharma et al [152] critically examined the potential of emerging water-borne pathogens in both developed and developing nations and the global epidemiology of a number of cases involving hepatitis viruses (including hepatitis E virus), Campylobacter jejuni, microsporidia, cyclospora, Yersinia enterocolitica, calciviruses and environmental bacteria like Mycobacterium spp., Aeromonads, Legionella pneumophila and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa that have been associated with water-borne illnesses.…”