Abstract:The present study aims to assess the contamination of microbes in the marketed raw chicken collected from retail outlets available in Hyderabad, India with a special emphasis on foodborne pathogens such as
Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and
Staphylococcus aureus. A total of 75 samples containing leg, wing and breast were collected under sterile conditions from the retail outlets and transported to the laboratory on ice. The chicken meat samples were homogenized in a sterile glass homogenizer and enumeration of bacteria was done through standard cultural techniques and the three major foodborne pathogens were isolated and identified using conventional microbiological methods.
Mean values of Total viable count (TVC) in the leg was assessed to be 7.36 log10 CFU/g or cm2 while that of wing is 3.26 log10 CFU/g and in the breast, it is found out to be 5.62 log10 CFU/g. Out of 25 samples of leg, ranges of TVC, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus are 4.03 to 10.41, 2.95 to 9.75, 5.09 to 12.98, 1.96 to 10.67 log10 CFU/g respectively as mentioned in table 1. Among the 25 samples of wing, the ranges of TVC, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus are 0.94 to 7.43, 1.96 to 9.76, 2.15 to 9.54 and 0.47 to 4.86 log10 CFU/g respectively as mentioned in table 2. In case of breast samples, ranges of Total viable count (TVC), Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus are 2.73 to 8.62, 0.76 to 5.01, 4.96 to 12.87 and 0.65 to 5.64 log10 CFU/g respectively as mentioned in table 3.
Higher bacterial load and the presence of intestinal microbes such as E. coli, Salmonella spp., in the present study indicates that the chicken is contaminated and the consumers are at higher risk of getting exposed to foodborne ailments when taken the raw or undercooked chicken.