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The control of spoilage of uneviscerated poultry carcasses by treatment with antibiotics before slaughter
Author(s) -
Shrimpton D. H.,
Barnes Ella M.,
Miller W. S.
Publication year - 1958
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740090606
Subject(s) - oxytetracycline , food spoilage , biology , clostridia , bacitracin , chlortetracycline , antibiotics , tetracycline , neomycin , food science , penicillin , flora (microbiology) , microbiology and biotechnology , veterinary medicine , bacteria , medicine , genetics
Greening, an early sign of spoilage in stored uneviscerated poultry carcasses, is a result of the metabolism of the gut flora. An attempt has been made to delay this spoilage by altering or suppressing the intestinal spoilage flora by feeding antibiotics before slaughter. Supplements to the feed of broilers throughout life with procaine penicillin, alone or with chlortetrachyline, were ineffective. Supplements to the drinking water for periods up to 24 hours immediately before death gave significant extensions of storage life of the uneviscerated carcasses. The antibiotics used, in order of effectiveness, were: oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, tetracycline and bacitracin plus neomycin. The main groups of organisms found in the caeca and duodena after death were the coliforms, faecal streptococci, lactobacilli and clostridia. Multiplication in both caeca and duodena was retarded in the carcasses from birds treated with tetracycline compounds. It was not possible, however, to explain differences in the effectiveness of these antibiotics either in terms of the numbers of these groups of bacteria or in the metabolic activity of the contents of the caeca and duodena. The dangers of selective inhibition of organisms of faecal origin without refrigeration are discussed.