The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the spread of
Salmonella
Enteritidis to different
cutting boards (wood, triclosan-treated plastic, glass, and stainless steel) from contaminated poultry
skin (5 log CFU/g) and then to tomatoes and to analyze the effect of different protocols used to clean
these surfaces to control contamination. The following procedures were simulated: (1) no cleaning after
handling contaminated poultry skin; (2) rinsing in running water; (3) cleaning with dish soap and
mechanical scrubbing; and (4) cleaning with dish soap and mechanical scrubbing, followed by
disinfection with hypochlorite. The pathogen was recovered from all surfaces following procedure 1, with
counts ranging from 1.90 to 2.80 log, as well as from the tomatoes handled on it. Reduced numbers of
S.
Enteritidis were recovered using the other procedures, both from the surfaces and from the tomatoes.
Counts were undetectable after procedure 4. From all surfaces evaluated, wood was the most dif
fi
cult to
clean, and stainless steel was the easiest. The use of hypochlorite as a disinfecting agent helped to reduce
cross-contamination.