Bacteriological comparison of parallel and counter flow water chilling of poultry meat.

Parallel flow water chilling and counter flow water chilling of young fattened broiler carcasses "Hybro" line were investigated. The samples were taken at 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. in March and April. The total count of aerobic mesophillic bacteria were determined at three stages of processing (evisceration, chilling using ether counter flow or parallel flow and final wash), and twice during the day (7 a.m. and 2 p.m.). Also, the total count of aerobic mesophilic bacteria was determined in samples of cold water (pre-chilling) and samples of ice water (chilling) at different times (7 a.m. and 2 p.m.). Significantly lower bacterial counts were obtained in carcasses treated with counter flow chilling.