ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(81)298
Vol.1981/0096

Disclaimer
Conformément aurèglement(CEE,Euratom)n°354/83duConseildu1erfévrier1983
concernantl'ouvertureaupublicdesarchiveshistoriquesdelaCommunauté économique
européenne etdelaCommunauté européenne del'énergieatomique(JOL43du15.2.1983,
p.1),telquemodifiéparlerèglement(CE,Euratom)n°1700/2003du22septembre2003
(JOL243du27.9.2003,p.1),cedossierestouvertaupublic.Lecaséchéant,lesdocuments
classifiésprésentsdanscedossierontétédéclassifiés conformément àl'article5dudit
règlement.
Inaccordance withCouncilRegulation(EEC,Euratom)No354/83of1February1983
concerningtheopeningtothepublicofthehistoricalarchivesoftheEuropeanEconomic
Community andtheEuropeanAtomicEnergyCommunity (OJL43,15.2.1983,p.1),as
amendedbyRegulation(EC,Euratom)No1700/2003of22September2003(OJL243,
27.9.2003,p.1),thisfileisopentothepublic.Wherenecessary,classifieddocuments inthis
filehavebeendeclassified inconformitywithArticle5oftheaforementioned regulation.
InÜbereinstimmung mitderVerordnung(EWG,Euratom)Nr.354/83desRatesvom1.
Februar1983überdieFreigabederhistorischen ArchivederEuropäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft undderEuropäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI.L43vom15.2.1983,
S.1),geändertdurchdieVerordnung (EG,Euratom)Nr.1700/2003vom22.September2003
(ABI.L243vom27.9.2003,S.1),istdieseDateiderÖffentlichkeit zugänglich.Soweit
erforderlich,wurdendieVerschlusssachen indieserDateiinÜbereinstimmung mitArtikel5
dergenanntenVerordnungfreigegeben.

COMMISSION OFTHE,EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(81)298 final
Brussels.15June1981
ReportfromtheCommissionto
theCouncil
onpoultrycarcasechillingprocessesandmicrobiological checksinpoultry
slaughterhouses
'-'
L-?s- .
i_.<y./Iri''</V. !
V"V,V'<>,•". -x-P>, .Sï
C0M(81)298final

Report "fromtheCommissiontotheCouncilon:>
Subiect :
I.poultrycarcasechillingprocesses
II.microbiological checksinpoultryslaughterhouses
I.Introduction ,,
' *s.
Article14aofCouncilDirective 71/118/EECof15February1971onhealth
1problemsaffectingtradeinfreshpoultrymeat ,aslastamendedbyDirective
80/216/EEC,requiredtheCommissiontoprepareandsubmittotheCouncila
report,possiblyaccompanied byorfollowedbyappropriate proposals,on:
"a)continuation ofthestudyonprocessesforthechillingofcarcaseswhich
aresatisfactory fromthepointofviewofhygiene,thereportdealing
•:•.bothwiththedevelopment ofthesystemreferredto.inAnnexI,ChapterV,
points28aand28bandwithotherchillingprocesses,particularly those
usingliquidCOgandliquidnitrogenortheprocessbymeansofspraying;
b)microbiological checks-includingtheroleoflimitvalues-andthe
microbiological methodstobeemployedforthepurposesofsuchchecks,on:
i)thedegreeofhygieneoftheimmersionchillingprocessreferredto\
inAnnexI,ChapterV,points28aand28b;
vandv'--:'/ ■-.. ■<-
ii)thewholeslaughtering processfromthetimethelivebirdentersthe
slaughterhouse untilthepackagingstageor,whereappropriate,until.
V.thecarcaseleavestheslaughterhouse ;
c)wateruptake-includingevaluationoftheroleofitslimitvalue-as'
aparameterforhygienechecksonimmersionchillingequipment.
Paragraph 3ofthisArticleestablishes thattheCouncilwilldecideonthe
unanimityoftheproposalsoftheCommission inadelayof1?monthsfromthe
timeoftheirsubmission." 1 ■
- Λ -
II.Poultrycarcasechillingprocesses andpossibility ofestablishing acorrelation
betweenwateruptakeandthehygieneratingofthechiltingplant
Withaviewtostudyingthesemattersandtoassemblingalltheavailable
information onpoultrycarcasechillingprocesses,theCommissionconsulted
theMemberStates'expertsintheScientificVeterinaryrOfmi:-.;ion.The
commentsandviewsexpressedinthecourseofthecons-jItatonsmaybe
summarized asfollows:s..
1OJL55of8.3.1971,p.23
2OJL47of21.2.1980,p.8 ' ■

a)Chitting processes using nowater : .
'1.Poultry were chilled inaircurrents onanindustrial in
■ . '-'V../ \V '"V' :-
■,sev ,eratVcountries ,Opinions oftheexperts were divided asto"'
microbe contamination changes resulting from this method and it
should b*pointed out inthis connection that most studies were
raaue incomparison with immersion chilling ;microbe contamination
depended upon theperformance ofoperations atallstages onthe
slaughter line .Themost important aspects here were temperature
,andwater recirculation intheheating tanks andalso theattention
paid torinsing thecarcases after drawing .Some experts believed
that this method considerably reduced therisk ofcross contamination ,
particularly where pathogenic microorganisms ,e.g. salmonellae ,
were involved .However ,this risk could not becompletely eliminated
and certain observations onanindustrial scale had also shown
that the level ofcarcase contamination bysalmonellae waspractically
thesame whether theairchilling orbyimmersion inacounter flow of
water chilling method wasused .Particularly inthe case ofturkeys tobe
sold frozen ,some experts thought that airchilling shortened theshelf-life
ofcarcases .Other experts had notnoticed this .
Airchilling asafinal step wasalso used after immersion inacounter flow
ofwater chilling todrain thecarcases soastobring water content down to
theregulation level and also ,intheopinion ofsome experts ,tolengthen
carcase shelf-life .
Airchilling ,theCommittee concluded ,was asatisfactory method
both from thepoint ofview ofhealth protection andoftechnique ,
being widely used onanindustrial scale inseveral countries ,
where consumers tended toprefer theresulting taste .
Alltheexperts agreed ,however ,that thecarcases must be"cleaned "
properly before they underwent air chilling ,and some experts even
thought that a"spraying "requirement (instead of"cleaning "now
required )should bemade definite inChapter V,section 28of
Annex ItoCouncil Directive 71/118/EEC,asamended .This preliminary
spr <r/ingwas,infact ,performed inallthecountries ,buttoa
va-ying extent ,assome experts thought that excessive

sprayingsignificantly reducedtheshelf-lifeofcarcasessold;
chilled.Inviewofthisvariability inspraying,someexperts
thoughtthattherulesonsprayingbeforechilling(cf.Article28
a,ChapterV,AnnexItotheabovementioned Directive)shouldbe
introduced alsoforcarcasesintendedforairchilling.Onthe
otherhand,someexpertsfeltthatthedecisionastowhetherthe
S
sprayingearnedoutintheslaughterhouse concerned wasamatter
solelyfortheveterinary inspectors .
Insection28b,ChapterV,ofAnnexItoCouncilDirective 71/118/EEC,
asamended/itwasstipulated thattheimmersioninacounterflowofwater
chillingprocessmustbecarriedoutinsuchawaythatthetemperature
specifiedinChapterXII<+4°C?wasreachedintheshortestpossibletime.
Thisstipulation shouldalsobelaiddowrvforairchilling.
Thevaporization ofliquidcarbondioxidehadbeentestedintwo
MemberStatesinordertobringaboutpreliminary carcasechilling.
Itenabledtheregulation temperatures tobeachievedandwas
completelysatisfactory fromthebacteriological pointofview.
Nevertheless ,itscostwasstilltoohighformoreextensive
application tobeenvisagedatpresent.Ontheotherhand,solid
carbondioxidewassometimesusedforsecondarychillinginorder
toextendtheshelf-life ofchilledcarcases.
Itwaseasytoattaintheregulation temperatures bymeansofthe
vaporization ofliquidnitrogen.However,thismethodsometimes
appearedto-causechangesinskinandmusclestructurewhichmade
thepoultryunsuitableformarketingchilledandwhichcould
facilitate deeppenetration ofsurfacemicroorganisms .Itwasalso
stillt®costly.

-4-
b)Chillingprocessesusingwater:
1.Simplespraywashingofcarcaseswithcoldwaterentailedsufficient
chillingunderacceptablehealthprotectionconditionsonlyifverylarge
quantitiesofwaterwereused.Themethodhasthusfallenintodisuse.
2.Theexpertsreportedthattestshadbeencarriedoutonanindustrialscale
inatleastoneslaughterhouse inaMemberState.Theseconcernedthe
settingupofacombinedchillingmethod,usingbothsprayingwithcold
water(non-recyIced)attheentrytothetunnelandpumped-airchilling
duringpassagethroughthetunnel.Thisprocedurewouldhavetheadvantage
thattheweightlossesduetoairchillingwhenusedalonewouldbeavoided
andalsothatcarcasesurfacemoisture,whichencouragedpropagation of
microorganisms ,wouldbeavoided.
3.Immersionwithsimultaneous movementofthecarcasesandwaterdistributed
bythecounter-current system,aslaiddowninChapterV,sections28aand
28bofAnnexItotheDirective,wasregardedassatisfactory fromthe
healthpointofview.Someoftheexpertsdisputedthequantitiesofwater
referredtoinsection28bwhileothersthoughttheseappropriately
calculated.
c)Possibility ofrelatingthedegreeofuptakeofwatertothehealthratingof
thechillingplant
Severalfactorsaffectedtheintensityofwateruptake;ifthecarcasedripped
sufficiently asitlefttheimmersiontank,thesubsequentmeasurement ofuptake
mightbeaffected.
Whilstitwastruethattheuptakebythecarcasesurfaceencouragedpenetration
ofpathogenicmicroorganism intothecentralregion,theintensityofsuch
contamination in-depthdependedchieflyuponthemicroorganism countofthe
absorbedwateritself:wateruptakewasthusunobjectionable ,ifthequality
ofwaterintheimmersiontankwasgood.
Thesameappliedtotheeffectwhichmightbeexertedbytherateofuptakeof
waterbythecarcaseontheactivity(A)ofthewateratthecarcasesurface.
w
Andameasurement,howeveraccurate,ofAatthesurfactofthecarcasecould
w
onlybesignificant forthehealthratingoftheplantifthenatureand
concentraticn ofthepathogenicmicroorganisms presentinthewaterwereknown
inadvance.Uncertainty wouldthusbekepttoaminimumifthebacteriological
qualityofthechillingtankwaterwasanalyseddirectly.

Inconclusion,theexpertsfeltthatitwasimpossibletoestablish a
definiterelationship betweenthevolumeofuptakeandthehealthrating
ofthechillingplantasawhole..
\
However,thehealthratingofchillingbyimmersioninacounterflowofwater
plantcouldbecheckedbyApplyingtheprovisionsofpoint(i)ofsection28b
inChapterVofAnnexItoCouncilDirective 71/118/EEC,asamended.
III.Microbiological checksinpoultryslaughterhouses -methods
Inordertostudythisquestion,theCommission : ;
-organized aCommunitylevelstudyofmicrobiological methodsused
forcheckinghygieneinpoultryslaughterhouses ;thepurposeand
conclusions ofthe,studyarereportedin(A)below;
-consulted MemberStates'expertsintheScientificVeterinary Commission .
A)Communitystudyofmicrobiological methodsusedforcheckinghygiene
inpoultryslaughterhouses
1.Thestudywascarriedoutbynineinstitutes .,ineightMemberStates:
oneinBelgium,oneinDenmark,twointheFederalRepublicofGermany,
oneinFrance,oneinIreland,oneinItaly,oneintheNetherlands
andoneintheUnitedKingdom.Thestudywascoordinated byaDanish
expert.Eachinstitutetriedoutthemethodsintwoorthreepoultry
slaughterhouses inaccordance withanexperimental procedureagreed
betweentheexpertsattheoutset.

-6-
2.Thestudycoveredthreecategoriesofmethods:
a)methodssuitableforcheckingthestateofhygieneofthefittings,,
utensilsandmachineryinslaughterhouses andofthewaterused
inthecarcasechillingsystem.
Bythesemethodsitispossibletomakeanobjectiveassessmentof
theeffectiveness ofcleaninganddisinfection,andofthestate
ofhygieneofsurfacesandwater;suchmethodsthereforefacilitate
andcomplementtheveterinaryinspector'sevaluation .
Threemethodsforevaluatingsurfacehygieneweretriedout:
theswabsamplingmethod,thecontactplatemethodandthetape
method.For*themicrobiological testingofwater,thedip-slide
methodwasstudied.
b)Methodssuitableforroutinemicrobiological checkingofcarcases
atdifferentstagesofproduction
Thesemethodsmustbequickandeasytocarryout,inexpensive and
readilyapplicable.Theymustprovideareliableindicationofthe
microbiological stateofthepoultrymeat .
Particularattentionwaspaidtotwomethods:
»thenitratereductiontest,andthesimplifiedenterobacter laceaetest
usingthelooptechniquetoobtainsamplesofrinsewaterfromneck
skin.
Microbiological examination ofcarcasesatdifferentstagesof
slaughtering shouldrevealthecrucialstagesintheproductionline
andallowmonitoringoftheeffectofanychangesincorporated in
productionprocesses.Inthiswayitispossibletoascertainthat
thepoultrymeatisproducedinaccordancewithhygienestandards.

-7-
Theresultsofsuchroutinechecksshouldprovideconfirmation ofa
subjectiveassessmentofhygieneandgiverapidwarningofunsatisfactory
hygienestandards,thusallowingtheinspectionservicetotakeappropriate
remedialsteps.
c)Samplingmethodsformicrobiological examination ofpoultrycarcases
Themethodsstudiedweretheneckskinmethodandthecarcaserinsemethod-.
inconjunction withtestsfortotalaerobicorganisms,enterobacteriaceae
i
andcoliforms.Theobjectofthestudywastodevelopstandardized micro­
biologicalmethodssuitableforuseincasesofdispute,forcollecting
microbiological dataonslaughtering processesandtheeffectsoftechno­
logicalmodifications ,andforuseasareferencemethod.Thetestswere
alsocarriedoutinordertodeterminewhetherenterobacteriaceae or
coliformsarethebestindicatorsofhygieneinslaughterhouses .*
3.Themainconclusions areasfollows:
*
-Thethreemethodsreferredtounder2(a)werecomparedforaccuracy,
practicalapplicability inslaughterhouses ,cost,easeofuse,applicability
ondifferentsurfaces,andspeedinobtainingresults.Allthreemethodsare
suitableformonitoringhygiene,thechoiceofoneratherthananotherdepending
ontheimportanceattachedtoeachfactor.However,whenreportingresults,
themethodsusedshouldbestated.
Thedip-slidemethodisrecommendedforthemicrobiological examinationof
waterinthechillingtanks;theresultscorrelatewellwiththoseofthe
conventional methodfordetectingenterobacteriaceae inwater.
-Withregardtathemethodsmentionedunder2(b),theresultsofthenitrate
reductiontestvariedfromoneinstitutetoanotherandthismethodcannot
berecommendedatpresentasitneedsimprovement .

-8-
TheLooptechnique,ontheotherhand,givessatisfactory resultsfor
theenterobacteri aceaecountinsamplestakenatvariousstagesalong
theslaughtering line.Thistechniquecanbesubstituted forthe
conventional bacteriological technique.
-Asregardsthetwomethodsmentionedunder2(c),theconclusiontobe
drawnisthattheyarenotinterchangeable aseachismoresuitable
incertaincircumstances .Theneckskinmethodshouldbeusedin
particularformicrobiological examinations duringandafterthe
slaughtering processtoevaluatetheeffectsoftechnology andtechni­
calmodifications onthemicrobialfloraofpoultryandtoexamine
largecarcases,suchasthoseofturkeys.Thecarcaserinsemethod
ismoresuitableparticularly whereacountoforganismswhichposea
threattopublichealthiswarrantedbesidestheenumeration ofthe
totalgermcount.
Theexperiments showthatthereisaclosecorrelation betweenthe
enterbacteriaceae andcoliformcounts.Eithermaybeusedformonitoring
hygiene.
B)Guidelines ontheapplication ofmicrobiological checksandstandards-
microbiological methodstobeused
1.Microbiological checksinslaughterhouses aretoberecommended ;
suchchecksconstitute aninteresting andusefulsourceofinformation
andguidanceforoperatorsandveterinaryinspectorswishingtoimprove
theconditionsofgeneralhygieneinslaughterhouses .Consequently ,
theveterinaryinspectionserviceshouldbegivensomeauthorityto
carryoutcompulsorymicrobiological checkswheretheseareconsidered
necessary .
2.Microbiological checksshouldcoverallstagesoftheslaughtering
processandshouldincludecarcases,utensils,machineryandfittings.
Itmustbelefttotheveterinaryinspectionservicetoindicatewhich
stageorstagesaretobegivenpriorityattention.Theveterinary
inspectionserviceismostqualifiedtodothisanditsrolein
organizingmicrobiological checksisthereforeofprimeimportance.

-9-
3.Itisstilltooearlytolaydownmicrobiological standards (limit
values,etc.),atleastatCommunitylevel,duetogreatdifficultiesof
establishing commonvaluesespeciallyasdifferencesstillexistbetweenand
withintheMember*Statesasregardsslaughteringtechnologyandthestateof
hygieneofpoultryfarms;thelatterhassignificantimplications forhygiene
allalongtheslaughtering line,
Furthermore suchstandardscannotbeestablisheduntilastudyhasbeen
carriedoutatCommunitylevel,usingharmonizedmethodsandtechniques,
inordertocollectthenecessarybasicfactsandfigures.
Untillimitvalueshavebeenworkedout,theresultsofthemicrobiologi­
calexaminations mustbeevaluatedbycomparisonwiththeresultsof
previousexaminations .
Asregardsmicrobiological standardsforpathogenicorganisms,itisto
bepointedoutthatalthoughtheimportanceofsomeoftheseinslaughter­
housesmustnotbeunderestimated ,thedangertheyrepresentdependsona
verylargenumberoffactorswhoserespectiveinfluences mustbecalculated.
Consequently,itwillnotbepossibletoestablishstandardsforsuch
organismsuntilastudy,whichwillnodoubtbelengthyanddifficult,has
been-carriedout.Accountwillalsohavetobetakenoftheconsequences,
intermsofhygieneandcost,oftheadoptionofsuchstandards.
4.Microbiological checksmusthelptheslaughterhouse operatorandthe
veterinaryinspectionservicetoimprovethegeneralhygieneofthe>
establishment ;theresultsofthesechecksmustnotbeusedsimplyas
acriterionforcondemningmeatorfororderingtheclosureofan ^
establishment .
#•
Thiscommentdoesnotapplytothemicrobiological testsconductedin
pursuanceofChapterVIandVIIofAnnexItoCouncilDirective71/118/EEC
onhealthproblemsaffectingtradeinfreshpoultrymeat,asamended.

10-
5.Itisnotyetpossibletoadvanceanyfiguresfortheratiobetween ^-
thecostofmicrobiological checksandthepotentialbenefitofsuch j
checksintermsofhumanhealthandanimprovementinthemicrobiolo- I
tgicalqualityofpoultrymeat ;theratiowilldependonfactorssuch
asthefrequencyofthemicrobiological checks,thenumberandcompetence
ofthepersonsassignedtosuchchecksandthemethodsused.Nonethelessitis
obviousthattheintroduction ofbacteriological testsinslaughterhouses
represents anunquestionable stepforwardtowardsanimprovement inthe
protectionofpublichealthandinthecommercialqualityofthefoodstuffs
concerned .
6.Microbiological checkscarriedoutwiththeaimofmonitoringgeneralhygiene
inslaughterhouses mustcoverthefollowing :
-utensils,fittingsandmachineryinordertodeterminethedegreeof
contamination ofsurfacesbyaerobicorganismsdevelopingatroom
temperature .Themostsuitablemethodsforsuchchecksareasfollows:
.contactplatemethodforhygienecontrolinpoultryprocessingestablish­
ments;
.swabsamplingmethodforhygienecontrolinpoultryprocessingestablish­
ments;
Asthetapemethodhasonlybeentestedtoalimiteddegree,theScientific
Veterinary Commission feJLtthatatthepresenttimethismethodcouldnot
berecommended,
-poultrycarcasesinordertoestablishthedegreeofcontamination by
aerobicorganismsandenterobacteriaceae throughouttheprocessingline.
Testsforenterobacteriaceae maybereplacedbytestsforcoliforms.The
mostsuitablemethodsforthesechecksarethefollowing :
.referencemethodforthesamplingofpoultrycarcasesformicrobiological
examination (neckskinmethod);
.referencemethodforthesamplingofpoultrycarcasesformicrobiological
examination (carcaserinsemethod);

,screeningmethodforthebacteriologicat'examinationforenterobacteriaceae
inpoultrymeat ; -
.referencemethodforthedetermination ofaerobicmicroorganisms in
'poultrymeat ;
.referencemethodforthedetermination ofenterobacter iaceae.orcoliforms
inpoultrymeat;
Forenterobacteriaceae themethodtobeusedinnormalcircumstances is
-
thereferencemethod;thescreeningmethodistobeusedonlywherethe4
veterinaryinspectorregardsitasadequate. "
-thewaterinthevariousitemsofmachinery :particularly inthechilling
tanks,toestablishthedegreeofcontamination byaerobicorganisms,
byenterobacteriaceae orbycoliforms.Themostsuitablemethodsare
thefollowing :
.screeningmethodforthemicrobiological examination ofwaterinpoultry
siauqhterhcuises (dip-slidemethod);
.referencemethodfor.themicrobiological examination ofwaterinpoultry
slaughterhouses .
Subparagraph i)ofparagraph28bofChapterVofAnnexItoCouncilDirective
71/118/EEConhealthproblemsaffectingtradeinfreshpoultrymeat,asamended,
stipulatesthatthecorrectfunctioningofthechillingbyimmersioninacounter
flowofwaterplantanditseffectonthehygienelevelaretobeevaluatedby
comparingthecontamination ofthecarcaseswithtotalbacteriaandentero­
bacteriaceae beforeandafterimmersion,.Themostsuitablemethodsforthisare
the-following:
-referencemethodforthesamplingofpoultrycarcasesformicrobiological
examination (neckskinmethod);thissamplingmethodmustbereplacedby
the"referencemethodforthesamplingofpoultrycarcasesformicrobio­
logicalexamination (carcaserinsemethod)"incaseswheretheneckskin
ofthepoultryhasbeenremoved;
-referencemethodforthedetermination ofaerobicmicroorganisms in
poultrymeat;

-12
-referencemethodforthedetermination ofenterobacteri aceaeor
coliformsinpoultrymeat .
IntheScientificVeterinary CommissiontheexpertsoffiveMember
Statesexpressedthe.viewthatthefunctioningofthechillingbyimmersion
inacounterflowofwaterplantcouldberegardedascorrectintermsof
hygienewheretheaveragenumberofgermsfoundonthecarcaseatthepoint
ofexitfromthechillingtankdidnotexceedthenumberfoundattheentry
point;accordingtotheexpertsoffourMemberStates,however,the
.averageattheexitpointshouldbelowerthanthatattheentrypoint.
Theprinciple (seepoint4)thatmicrobiological examinations musthelp
theoperatorandtheveterinaryinspectionserviceandshouldnotbe
usedsimplyasabasisforcondemningmeatororderingtheclosureof.
theestablishment alsoappliestothesechecks.
8.Themethodsreferredtoinpoints6and7abovehavebeenstudiedby
theScientificVeterinary Commission;ineachcase,thetestprocedure,
themicrobialculturemedia,thesamplingsystem,thescopeandthefield
ofapplication ofthemethodhavebeendefined.
TheCommissionplanstoforwardproposalstotheCouncilonthebasisof
thisreportassoonaspossible,particularly withreferencetoCommunity
microbiological methodstobeusedforcheckingthecorrectfunctioning
ofthechillingbyimmersioninacounterflowofwaterplant,asprovided
forinsubparagraph (i)ofparagraph28bofChapterVofAnnexItoCouncil
Directive71/118/EEConhealthproblemsaffectingtradeinfreshpoultrymeat,
asamended-