Integrated Food Safety Management Strategies in Poultry Operations: Technical Approaches for Pathogen Control

Foodborne illnesses caused by Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes continue to pose significant public health risks, particularly due to their association with undercooked or improperly handled poultry products. In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has implemented multiple regulatory initiatives to minimize contamination risks throughout poultry production. These include performance standards with maximum acceptance percentages for Salmonella and Campylobacter positive whole carcasses of 9.8% and 15.7%, respectively. In 2024, the FSIS published a proposed regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry products, a risk-based approach for Salmonella control through enhanced testing, contamination levels, and greater focus on serotypes of public health concern. For ready-to-eat (RTE) and not ready-to-eat (NRTE) products, FSIS has issued specific regulations and guidance. The FSIS Salmonella control strategies for nonready-to-eat breaded stuffed chicken products target products that have historically been linked to outbreaks caused by undercooking or consumer misperception, which consider these products adulterated if they contain Salmonella. For RTE poultry and meat products, the FSIS Listeria Rule mandates that processors control Listeria monocytogenes to prevent contamination after post-lethality treatment. Given the complexity of raw and RTE poultry processing environments and the persistence of pathogenic bacteria, ensuring poultry product safety requires the integration of multifaceted, science-based strategies. The studies summarized here provide applied insights into microbial behavior and risk management in poultry systems. Across 450 carcass/part rinses collected over nine production days, enumeration revealed ≥ 1 log reduction of Salmonella and Campylobacter after the chill step, but wings and tenders re-contaminate during cut-up. Statistical process control limits were established at each processing location, triggering alerts when counts exceed flock- or shift-specific thresholds. Shift comparison showed the second Texas Tech University, Daniela R. Chavez-Velado, December 2025 iii shift wings carrier higher Salmonella loads, but there were no statistically significant differences between shifts for the rest of the locations. Flock level profiling demonstrated that incoming Salmonella loads vary significantly; however, post-chill performance is flock independent. Whole genome analysis of 102 Salmonella isolates from a plant ongoing under normal and reduced chemical levels showed that normal PAA/Chlorine conditions suppress serovar diversity, allowing multidrug resistance Kentucky serotype to dominate. For reduced levels, Braenderup and Schwarzengrund serotypes emerged, and the public health concern serotype Typhimurium appeared only at pre-chill. Results provide plant-specific evidence that lowering chemical concentrations reshapes both serovar variety and antimicrobial resistance. A controlled inoculation study compared Hunt, Bolton, and Campy food broths under microaerophilic vs. aerobic conditions on different inoculation levels. Campy food broth at 42°C microaerophilic conditions delivered 100% sensitivity, whereas aerobic conditions dropped sensitivity to 66-93% for all broths at low inoculation levels. Bolton broth yielded occasional false positives; Hunt broth missed 47% of lowlevel targets under oxygen stress. The data recommend microaerophilic Campy Food broth as the preferred method for post-chilled carcass rinsate samples. For environmental and sentinel samples from five prepared food lines, spatialtemporal heat mapping pointed to post oven transfer belts and j-scoops before baggers as recurrent Listeria spp. niches. Total Viable Counts (TVC) levels were poor predictors of Listeria presence. At week 11, contamination spiked across multiple post-cook surfaces, triggering enhanced sanitation, reducing positives by >80% within two weeks, validating the early warning capability of the mapping protocol.