Use of a marker organism in poultry processing to identify sites of cross-contamination and evaluate possible control measures.

1. Nine different sites at a poultry processing plant were selected in the course of a hazard analysis to investigate the degree of microbial cross-contamination that could occur during processing and the effectiveness of possible control measures. 2. At each site, carcases, equipment or working surfaces were inoculated with a non-pathogenic strain of nalidixic acid-resistant Escherichia coli K12; transmission of the organism among carcases being processed was followed qualitatively and, where appropriate, quantitatively. 3. The degree of cross-contamination and the extent to which it could be controlled by the proposed measures varied from one site to another.