Improvement of modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar by addition of potassium clavulanate for detecting Campylobacter spp. in chicken carcass rinse

• Modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) was improved by supplementation with potassium clavulanate.
• The ability of the supplemented medium to isolate Campylobacter from chicken carcass rinse was compared with that of normal mCCDA.
• Modification of mCCDA with potassium clavulanate yielded significantly (p < 0.05) better isolation rate and selectivity than that achieved when using normal mCCDA.

The presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) in raw poultry is one of the most common factors that interfere with the isolation of Campylobacter by cefoperazone-based selective agar. The performance of modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) was improved by addition of an ESBL inhibitor, potassium clavulanate (0.5 mg/L). The ability of the supplemented medium (C-mCCDA) to detect Campylobacter species from chicken carcass rinse was compared with that of normal mCCDA. The isolation rate using C-mCCDA was significantly (p < 0.05) higher compared with that using mCCDA (C-mCCDA, 67 out of 120; mCCDA, 38 out of 120). Furthermore, the selectivity of the C-mCCDA as assessed by comparing the number of contaminated plates (C-mCCDA, 44 out of 120; mCCDA, 110 out of 120) and growth index (C-mCCDA, 1.76; mCCDA, 2.79) of competing flora was also better (p < 0.05) than that of mCCDA.