SPOILAGE BACTERIA OF FRESH BROILER CHICKEN CARCASSES

Studies were conducted to identify the bacteria responsible for spoila ge of fresh broiler chicken carcasses and to characterize the off-odor s these bacteria produce. Broiler carcasses were collected from proces sing plants in the northeast Georgia area, the southeastern U.S., Arka nsas, California, and North Carolina. The carcasses were allowed to sp oil under controlled conditions at 3 C and spoilage bacteria were isol ated. Each spoilage bacterium was separately inoculated into a sterile chicken skin medium, incubated at 25 C for 48 h, and subjectively eva luated for odor. The bacteria isolated from spoiled carcasses that con sistently produced off-odors in the chicken skin medium, regardless of the geographical location from which the chickens were obtained, were Shewanella putrefaciens A, B, and D, Pseudomonas fluorescens A, B, an d D, and Pseudomonas fragi. These bacteria produced off-odors that res embled ''sulfur'' ''dishrag'', ''ammonia'', ''wet dog'', ''skunk'', '' dirty socks'', ''rancid fish'', ''unspecified bad odor'', or a sweet s mell resembling ''canned corn''. Odors produced by the spoilage bacter ia were varied; however, odors most associated with spoiled poultry, s uch as ''dishraggy'' odors, were produced by the bacteria that were mo st consistently isolated, such as S. putrefaciens and the pseudomonads .