Is the use of ultrasound and steam effective in reducing Campylobacter jejuni, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, and Total Aerobic Bacteria on Broiler Carcasses?

Broilers are usually slaughtered in a high-speed automated system that could cause the intestines' rupture during evisceration, resulting in contamination of carcasses with intestinal bacteria like Campylobacter. A study by Moazzami et al. (J Food Prot (2021) 84 (4): 572–578) evaluated the combined effects of ultrasound and steam on naturally contaminated chicken carcasses at a large-scale abattoir in Sweden.  Ultrasound ( 30 to 40 kHz) and steam ( 84-85°C or 87-88°C) were used at slaughter, with a line speed of 18,000 birds/ hour. Sampled before and after treatment by ultrasound-steam were analyzed for Campylobacter spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, and total aerobic bacteria on neck skins. After the ultrasound-steam treatment, the mean reductions in C. jejuni was 0.5 ± 0.8 log CFU/g, in Enterobacteriaceae 0.6 ± 0.6 log CFU/g, in E. coli 0.5 ± 0.6, and total aerobic bacteria 0.4 ± 0.7 log CFU/g.  Although the bacterial reductions were significant, large amounts of bacteria remained on the carcasses after treatment. The reduction in counts was lower in this study than in previous studies. @ https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article/84/4/572/447788/Reducing-Campylobacter-jejuni-Enterobacteriaceae