Variability in microbiological samplings of chickens by the swab method.

Abstract INTRODUCTION THE bacterial population on the surface of ready-to-cook chicken is a good index of its shelf life. Procedures for microbiological sampling of birds fall into 3 general categories: 1) using a prescribed weight of excised tissue, 2) washing the entire bird or piece, and 3) removing the organisms from a definite surface area. Lock-head and Landerkin (1935) and May et al. (1961) among others, estimated bacterial numbers on poultry by washing a piece of excised tissue in diluent. Gunderson et al. (1954) ground the sample in a blender prior to making the serial dilutions. Yacowitz et al. (1957) and Goresline and Haugh (1959) dipped chicken parts into the diluent whereas Drewniak et al. (1954) and Corey and Barnes (1963) submerged the whole bird. Removal of bacteria from a prescribed area of the bird’s surface has been accomplished using pressed or poured agar, contact with millipore filter pads or by …