EFFECT OF LACTIC-ACID FERMENTATION ON BACTERIAL PATHOGENS AND INDICATOR ORGANISMS IN BROILER PROCESSING WASTE

Broiler processing offal (heads, viscera, and feet) was collected on 3 separate days from a commercial processing plant. Each sample was sep arately ground, supplemented with sucrose (6% initial concentration), inoculated with actively growing lactic acid bacteria (10(6) cfu/g of offal) from a commercial silage culture, and fermented at 37 C. Replic ate samples were taken for standard microbiological analysis after 0, 48, and 120 h of fermentation. In fresh offal, heterotrophic plate cou nt, total and fecal coliforms, fecal streptococci, and Aeromonas hydro phila concentrations were 7.4, 5.9, 5.9, 5.4, and 3.9 log10 cfu/g wet weight, respectively. After 48 h of fermentation, the bacterial concen trations were 7.6, 2.2, <1.3, 5.5, and <2.3 log10 cfu/g wet weight, re spectively. After 120 h of fermentation, the bacterial concentrations were 6.9, <1.1, <1.1, <1.1, and <1.1 log10 cfu/g wet weight, respectiv ely. Salmonella concentrations in fresh, 48-h fermented, and 120-h fer mented offal samples were 3.7, <1.5, and <1.5 log10 most-probable-numb er/100 g wet weight, respectively. Lactic acid fermentation appears to be effective in reducing the number of bacterial pathogens and indica tor organisms in poultry processing offal.