Microbiology of ova harvested from commercially slaughtered mature chickens

The microbiological quality of ova harvested from mature chickens in commercial slaughter plants was studied. Greatest contamination of the product occurred at the location where ova were drawn from the carcasses. Water fluming and chilling procedures caused some reduction in contamination levels. Total aerobic plate counts, coagulase-positive staphylococci, presumptive Clostridium perfringens and Enterobacteriaceae counts of chilled ova were low, and no salmonellae were detected on these samples. Since intact ova are shipped refrigerated to egg processing plants for further processing and pasteurization before use in food products, there should be little concern about microbial food safety of ova.