U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2002





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 Chicken Feather Follicles Don’t Harbor Bacteria
By Sharon DurhamJune 25, 2002
For years, researchers have looked for ways to cleanse chicken feather follicles of bacteria and other potentially harmful microbes during or after processing. This research was based on the belief that feather follicles--empty and open after feathers are plucked--harbor skin surface contaminants. Now, Agricultural Research Service researchers have shown that feather follicles don’t seem to harbor bacteria after all.
ARS scientists R. Jeffrey Buhr, Mark E. Berrang and John A. Cason of the Poultry Processing and Meat Quality Unit in Athens, Ga., bred featherless chickens, which do not have feather follicles, to compare against their feathered siblings. The researchers found that the amount of E. coli and Campylobacter found on the skin surface of the birds was basically the same, with or without feathers.
The first step in this research was breeding featherless, or scaleless, chickens that would be of comparable size to feathered chickens of the same age. By the use of artificial insemination, the offspring of featherless roosters and commercial broiler breeder hens were bred to produce both feathered and featherless chicks.
The birds were given Campylobacter orally a week before processing, during which the birds were handled in alternating batches of four feathered and four featherless chickens. The breast skin, under sterile conditions, was then carefully removed from the carcass and tested for Campylobacter,E. coli and other bacteria.
From all carcasses, the recovery of E. coli did not differ between feathered and scaleless fowl, showing that the presence or absence of feathers and empty follicles did not impact the level of bacteria recovered from the breast skin.
ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov