A review on microbiological aspects of dressed chicken.

Research in the area of poultry science
has brought out certain improvements
in breeding, nutrition, disease control,
management, processing, packing and distribution.
Parallel with these advancements
the demand for various processed
poultry products have also increased at a
steady rate. Today, the non-vegetarian
consumers in addition to eviscerated cut
up and tray packed chicken are looking
ahead for various convenience items such
as poultry roll, streaks, roasts etc. While
attempting to produce these items to
satisfy the requirements of the consumers,
the products are bound to undergo certain
amount of handling and processing. The
more the product undergoes handling
and processing the greater are the chances
for it to get contaminated with pathogens
and spoilage organisms. Moreover, once
a perishable product like chicken is loaded
with excessive organisms it becomes undesirable
not only from the point of view
of public health but also from storage and
aesthetic principles. Keeping this in view
the present review has been written with
an aim to pin point the various sources of
contamination of dressed chicken, determine
the composition of microflora present
on it and their significance in relation to
human health and how best they can be
voided while processing and distribution.