Defeathering is the process of removing feathers from poultry during slaughter and processing, typically performed after scalding to loosen the feathers. It is a critical step in preparing poultry for human consumption, both for product quality and for food safety. The defeathering stage is a recognized point at whi…
Defeathering is the process of removing feathers from poultry during slaughter and processing, typically performed after scalding to loosen the feathers. It is a critical step in preparing poultry for human consumption, both for product quality and for food safety. The defeathering stage is a recognized point at which carcasses can become cross-contaminated with bacteria, including foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli, because equipment and water can spread microorganisms between carcasses. Effective and hygienic defeathering, along with proper scalding temperatures and equipment sanitation, therefore plays an important role in reducing microbial contamination and protecting consumers. Research published in this journal addresses the microbial safety of poultry meat relevant to this stage, including a study of aerobic plate counts and the molecular characterization of Escherichia coli in raw chicken meat, which illustrates the contamination concerns associated with poultry processing. From a nutrition and food-safety standpoint, controlling contamination during processing steps such as defeathering helps ensure that poultry, a major dietary source of protein, is safe to eat. This page gathers peer-reviewed, open-access research relevant to defeathering, poultry processing, and food safety.
1 peer-reviewed article, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 1 article above has been cited 4 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Defeathering, linking to each citing work.