The objective of the current study was to assess the shelf-life durations and hygienic standards of chicken giblets
purchased from Egyptian live poultry outlets compared to the Egyptian Standardization Organization criteria.
Salmonella prevalence and antibiotic-resistance profiles were also described. On the first day, forty-five giblet
samples were randomly collected and evaluated for aerobic plate count (APC), coliform, Escherichia coli,
Staphylococcus and Staphylococcus aureus, and multidrug-resistant Salmonella contamination rates using culturing
methods, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, and the VITEK® − 2
system. Four- and five-day shelf-life durations were assessed. All chicken giblets had acceptable APC levels below
the 6 log cfu/g on the collection day, but 27 % were contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis, rendering them
unfit. More than 2-log CFU/gm of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus contamination was identified in 64 %
and 58 % of the giblets, respectively. All targeted indices surpassed maximum authorized requirements after four
and five days of chilling at 4 ◦C, coupled with the detection of obvious greenish discoloration and off odor. All
twelve Salmonella Enteritidis were vulnerable to carbapenems, cefepime, and piperacillin/tazobactam, but 83 %
were multidrug-resistant (MDR), with four demonstrating extended-spectrum beta-lactam resistance. This could
be the first Egyptian report identifying such a high prevalence rate of Salmonella and MDR to key antibiotics in
chicken giblets. The current study encourages Egyptian authorities to reevaluate laws governing live poultry
outlets to reduce the risk of disease exposure, including the National Egyptian Food Safety Authority’s direct
supervision over these outlets to establish a stringent safety program. |
