Prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella during pig slaughtering.

It was found that 79% of healthy pigs, slaughtered in three different slaughterhouses in the Netherlands, were intestinal carriers of Campylobacter jejuni (mean number 4000 cfu per g), and 21% of the same pigs had Salmonella in the intestinal tract (mean number 10 cfu per g). Immediately after slaughter, Campylobacter was swabbed from 9% of the carcasses and Salmonella from 13%. It is concluded from these data that most of the contamination on carcasses does not originate directly from the intestinal tracts of the animals but rather from surfaces, equipment, and utensils in the slaughter hall. It was demonstrated that Salmonella could survive in the slaughter hall, whereas Campylobacter died off, probably due to its vulnerability to drying conditions and its inability to grow at temperatures below 30 degrees C. Campylobacter was not isolated from the carcasses after cooling. It had been shown earlier that this again was caused by dry conditions, brought about by the use of forced ventilation in the cooling rooms. In an additional investigation, Campylobacter was not isolated from 248 samples of minced pork (10 g each), whereas Salmonella was found in 13% of these samples.