Both on untreated and on most
decontaminated samples the overgrowth of spoilage bacteria among the species tested was observed
throughout storage, suggesting that spoilage would occur prior to any noteworthy increase in the levels of
pathogenic microorganisms. However, L. monocytogenes counts similar to, or higher than, those for spoilage
bacteria were observed on samples treated with TSP, ASC or CA, suggesting that these treatments might
pose a danger to consumers. However, these results derive from laboratory-based experiments testing
artificially-inoculated bacteria. Further investigations of the natural micro-biota of poultry carcasses would
be appropriate in order to substantiate these findings.