Impact of Processing Methods on the Bacteriological Quality of Poultry Portioning Operations in Khartoum State, Sudan

This study was carried out to investigate the bacterial load in portioned poultry meat operations in Khartoum State from February 2018 to August 2020. Twelve (36.4%) operations were selected out of 33 of poultry portioning meat of which 6 were chosen randomly from the traditional and 6 from the modern sectors to cover the three localities of Khartoum State. Swab sample method was used for bacterial count. A total of 288 swab samples were randomly collected. Sterile swab was swabbed in the breast and leg skin of chicken at different process steps. The study revealed no significant differences between traditional and modern sectors in terms of mean of total count log10 (cfu/g) of water samples, hand samples before and after portioning, work surface samples before and after portioning, while the mean of total count log10 (cfu/g) for saw samples before and after portioning was found significantly greater in traditional compared to modern sector with p=.001 and p=.007, respectively. The chicken samples after chilling and after portioning process steps were found significantly greater in traditional compared to modern sector (p=.000). This study indicated that poultry portioning meat sector showed high bacterial load. The findings were of value for poultry industry for applying biosecurity and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) programs through poultry meat chain.