Campylobacter spp. Campylobacter jejuni Campylobacter coli Poultry meat Retail contamination http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Meat technology - Special Issue 66/3 2025 volume: 66 number: 3 startpage: 402 endpage: 407 2025-12-01 application/pdf 460647 bytes info:eu-repo/semantics/article eng https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:8640 doi:10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.69 Occurrence and species-level identification of thermophilic Campylobacter in retail poultry meat in Serbia Milojević, Lazar Velebit, Branko Janković, Vesna V. Mitrović, Radmila Lakićević, Brankica Mišić, Dunja Betić, Nikola Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology Species within the Campylobacter genus, notably Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, are among the primary bacterial agents responsible for foodborne illnesses worldwide. Poultry meat frequently serves as a key vector of transmission, owing to the high prevalence of these bacteria in the gastrointestinal tracts of birds. The purpose of this study was to as- sess both the occurrence and levels of C. jejuni and C. coli in raw chicken meat available in Serbian retail markets. In 2023, a total of 118 fresh poultry samples were obtained from various retail outlets and analyzed in accordance with ISO standards for qualitative and quantitative microbiological evaluation. Results indicated a notably high contamination rate, with Campylobacter detected in 75% of the samples. Among these, 63 samples exhibited quantifiable bacterial loads ranging from 20 to 7,600 CFU/g. Molecular testing further con- firmed the presence of thermotolerant Campylobacter species in 98% of the positive sam- ples. Specifically, C. jejuni was detected in 75%, and C. coli in 85% of cases, with over half of the positive samples containing both species. The highest bacterial concentrations were found in drumstick and thigh meat cuts. These results emphasize the considerable public health concern associated with Campylobacter contamination in poultry meat sold in Serbia, and they reinforce the necessity of stricter hygiene practices and comprehensive monitoring across the poultry production and distribution chain.