Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the microbiological hazards associated with the poultry slaughter process and to detect critical control points necessary for effective control of hazards. Three poultry slaughter slabs located in Makurdi were used, poultry carcasses from the slabs were examined at all the stages of slaughter process. The analyses were conducted by collecting swabs of each carcass after each stage during processing, the butchers’ palm, table top, meat and water samples, assessing their microbiological qualities and presence of foodborne pathogen (Salmonella spp.) as indicator organism using standard microbiological procedures. A total of 249 samples were evaluated (October to December 2019) using the bacteriological analytical method. The results showed that mean total aerobic count (TAC) and mean Total Coliform Count (TCC) at the different sampling sites surpasses the recommended value with the mean Total Aerobic Count at point 2 and Table-top showing statistically significant difference between the different sampling sites. Seventeen (6.8%) of the 249 samples were positive for Salmonella spp., out of which 53% were from Wurukum market, 29% from Wadata market and 18% from Modern market. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that 82.4%, 76.5%, 64.7% and 52.9% were resistant to Colistine Sulphate, Ampicillin, Tetracycline and Ceftriaxone while 94.1%, 94.1%, 88.2% and 47.1% were highly susceptible to Ciprofloxacine, Imipenem, Enrofloxacine and Chloramphenicol. PCR confirmed the presence of InvA gene (11.8%) in 17 isolates. The high levels of TAC, TCC and isolation of Salmonella spp. with InvA gene capable of invAsiveness indicates an unhygienic slaughter process practiced in Makurdi. which poses a risk to public health due to the potential of consumption of foof contaminated with Salmonella spp. with InvA gene. Evisceration, carcass wash, meat, table-top and butchers’ palm are considered as critical control points during poultry processing in this study.

Key words: HACCP, Makurdi, Microbiological hazards, Poultry, Salmonella