Microbial & Molecular Identification of Microbiota of Processed Chicken Products

Poultry meat and meat products are the major sources of animal protein in the human diet throughout the world; however, they can be contaminated by various microorganisms. In this study, we isolated bacterial strains from chicken nuggets, chicken burgers, chicken franks, chicken balls, chicken kebab, chicken mince (frozen), and chicken mortadella purchased from two different retail stores located in Makkah. Bacterial strains were then characterized based on their biochemical features and 16S rRNA gene phylogeny. The isolates were also examined for their susceptibility to antibiotics. In this study, a total of fifty-one strains were isolated. Among them, forty-two strains were gram-positive and only nine strains were gram-negative bacteria. Thirty-two strains were oxidase-positive, and forty-two isolates were catalase-positive. 16S rRNA gene phylogeny showed that the bacteria belonged to sixteen genera, including Neisseria, Brevibacillus, Bacillus, Exiguobacterium, Rothia, Staphylococcus, Lysinibacillus, Kocuria, Sphingomonas, Novosphingobium, Enterococcus, Pelomonas, Paenibacillus, Klebsiella, Morganella, and Lactococcus. Bacterial strains responded differently against different antibiotics. The isolates A12 and A34 showed resistance to the highest number of antibiotics tested. Overall, the present study revealed that various poultry meat products in the studied area were contaminated by bacterial populations, and therefore, it is essential to investigate stores regularly to reduce microbial contamination in order to ensure public health.