1. IntroductionIntestinal campylobacteriosis is the leading bacterial zoonosis inEurope and worldwide (WHO, 2011). The main causative agent ofthis food borne acute gastroenteritis is Campylobacter jejuni(C. jejuni), a common coloniser of birds' intestines, especially inindustrial poultry production (Skirrow, 1977). C. jejunicontaminated poultry meat and meat products are considered themost important sources of disease in humans. Campylobactercontamination of poultry meat occurs vastly and inevitably duringslaughterhouse processing (Berrang et al., 2001); thereafter campylobactersefficiently survive throughout the food chain, constitutingrisk to public health. The high level of colonised broilers andcontaminated broiler meat with C. jejuni isolates has also become ofmajor concern in Slovenia. In 2011, Slovenia reported a prevalenceof 77.0% and 92.0% in broiler faecal and skin samples, respectively(EFSA, 2013), which is among the highest in the EU. Interestingly,the number of human campylobacteriosis cases in Slovenia is not ashigh as expected according to the aforementioned data; the incidenceis slightly under the EU average and lower than in manycountries reporting low prevalence at broiler farms and on carcasses(EFSA, 2013). A possible explanation for this fact could bethat even though the prevalence of Campylobacter carcasscontamination was high, the detected numbers of Campylobacterwere quite low: in 94.2% of carcasses the counts were lower than1000 CFU/g or below the limit of detection (<10 CFU/g; EFSA, 2010)and basically in line the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)-recommended microbiological criteria (EFSA, 2011). Thesenumbers are expected to be further reduced by refrigeration at theproduction plant, at retail and consumer levels, until actual consumption(El-Shibiny et al., 2009).Slovenia is a small country with only two poultry processingplants, which allows for individualized assessment of criticalpoints. Consequently, the study's authors believe that furtherreduction of Campylobacter carcass contamination at slaughterhouselevel is possible, despite the fact that the contaminatingCampylobacter numbers are favourably low already. To achieve thisgoal it is first necessary to ascertain where, when, how and to whatextent contamination occurs on a specific slaughter line. Therefore,a detailed analysis of Campylobacter carcass contamination wasconducted at the bigger of two existing broiler slaughterhouselines, representing approx. 80% of poultry processing in Slovenia.This paper presents and discusses the results.
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