Abstract
This descriptive and experimental study was conducted between June and September 2020 in six poultry slaughterhouses in Khartoum State Sudan. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of chemical interventions on reduction of poultry carcasses bacterial load and to assess the management measures adopted in poultry processing plants and their effects on reducing bacterial load. Slaughterhouses were classified into three groups according to the chemical interventions used. Both checklist and swab samples were applied to assess the status of the prerequisite programs (PRPs), activities during operational processes (OP) and total bacterial count (TBC). The samples were taken directly from the processing line from three steps: after final wash, after drying and after freezing. According to the checklist assessment, the study revealed that the slaughterhouses used sodium chloride failed to comply with the acceptable limit and scored 69.1%. The mean of TBC after final wash was found 183±19.6 cfu, after chemical intervention 123±24 cfu, after freezing 133.8±30 cfu with statistical significant difference 0.020 with p ≤ 0.05. Whereas, slaughterhouses used acetic acid failed to comply with the acceptable limit and scored 73%, the mean of TBC after final wash was found 260.8±18.8 cfu, after chemical intervention 158.4±34 and after freezing 299±1 cfu with statistical significant difference 0.001, with p ≤ 0.05. Also, slaughterhouses used hydrogen peroxide failed to comply with the acceptable limit and scored 61.9% and the mean of TBC after final wash was found 247.2±29 cfu, after chemical intervention 10±10 cfu, after freezing 115,6±21 cfu, with highly statistical significant difference 0.000, with p ≤ 0.05. This study concluded that the chemical interventions had reduced the bacterial load but the slaughterhouses need more management to minimize contamination in the final product.