The fundamental principle of controlling microbial contamination during slaughter is based on sanitary and
hygienic processes. Both choosing abattoir technologies and conducting individual operations should be
approached with the primary goal of minimizing microbial load on the final product. Nevertheless, even
when best hygienic abattoir practices are applied, complete prevention of all microbial contamination of carcasses
is unachievable under commercial conditions. Therefore, in some situations it may be considered necessary
to further reduce the microbial loads on carcasses through application of additional control interventions,
i.e. decontamination treatments. Treatments applied on poultry carcasses or parts include water, steam and
chemical solutions (e.g., lactic or acetic acid, chlorine-based compounds, cetylpyridiniumchloride, and trisodium
phosphate) and result in overall microbial reductions of 0.6–3.8 log units; antimicrobial activity of some chemicals
(e.g., chlorine compounds) is reduced in the presence of organic material. Decontamination treatments of
hides (pre-skinning) and/or cattle carcasses reduce Salmonella by b0.7–5.1 log units. Salmonella prevalence reductions
achievable by decontamination of porcine carcasses seemto be at least two-fold. Overall Salmonella reductions
on final carcasses and meat can be significantly improved when multiple decontamination treatments
are applied sequentially during slaughter and dressing operations. It is important to note that decontamination
interventions should be validated and considered as part of a hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP)-
based food safety system which is subject to verification and auditing, and they should never be used as a substitute
for good sanitation and proper hygiene practices.