Food borne pathogens are a serious public health problem. Poultry are often associated with food borne disease outbreaks.
The objective of this study was to investigate the distribution of food borne pathogens associated with manipulation of
chicken meat contaminated with Salmonella spp., E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter spp. and Listeria
monocytogenes. 104 retail chicken meat samples were examined (51 imported frozen chicken meats and 53 local chicken
meats). Salmonella was detected in the percentage of 3.8% (4/104), 1 isolate was S. Kentucky and 3 were S. Magherafelt.
E. coli were isolated with percentage of 35.6% (37/104) with different serotypes. On the other hands isolation of S. aureus
was 27.9% (29/104) revealed from 8 local chicken's samples and 21 imported frozen chicken's samples. While
Campylobacter appeared with percentage reached to 4.8% (5/104) after confirmation with PCR, which identified
Campylobacter coli. There is no record for Listeria Monocytogens, but Listeria spp. was present with percentage of 26.9%
(28/104). The identification of typical colonies revealed L. Ivanovi and L. Welshimeri