No abstract

Detection of SaZmoneZlu in thaw water, pericloacal skin and whole carcass rinse samples from naturally contaminated broiler chickens was compared. Of 100 birds tested, 70 were found to contain Salmonellae by the three sampling techniques combined; the median level of contamination was 0.27 salmonellae/lOOg eviscerated carcass weight. Recovery with the whole carcass rinse technique (93%) was significantly greater than that obtained with thaw water (63%) and skin (74%) methods; performance of the latter two methods was not statistically different. Thaw water does not provide a reliable index of Salmonella contamination and therefore is not a suitable method for the nondestructive analysis of poultry carcasses. Selective enrichment in tetrathionate brilliant green broth and plating on bismuth sulfite agar identified the greatest number of contaminated carcasses under all sampling conditions.

Inhibitory concentrations of 8 surfactants were determined for Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis. Pure culture work resulted in the exclusion of Tween 20, Teepol 610 and Brij 35 and retention of Tergitol-7 (T-7), Tween 80 (TW 80), Triton X-100 (TX), Myrj 52S (M), and Arlacel 80 + Tween 60 (AT) for a study on the quantitative recovery of Salmonella in 45 naturally contaminated fatty foods. Replicate food samples (100 g) were preenriched overnight at 35 C in nutrient broth supplemented with 3%(w/v) surfactant except AT (10%). Serial dilutions of preenrichment cultures were selectively enriched overnight in tetrathionate brilliant green (43 C) and selenite cystine (35 C) broths and streaked on bismuth sulfite and brilliant green sulfa agar media. Recovery with all test surfactants was comparable to that obtained with nutrient broth controls; of 270 preenrichment cultures tested, only 7 false-negative results attributable to TX (3), AT (2), M (1), and nutrient broth control (1) were obtained. None of the surfactants consistently yielded greater populations of Salmonella for given foods or food categories; median counts for preenrichment cultures were 104–105 salmonellae/ml for low and high moisture foods and 106–107 salmonellae/ml for animal feeds. These results suggest that use of surfactants to facilitate detection of Salmonella in fatty foods is not warranted.

Efficacy of standard, 6-h standard and direct enrichment methods for detection of Salmonella in naturally contaminated feeds and feed ingredients was compared. Analysis by the standard method involved preenrichment of feed slurries in nutrient broth, selective enrichment in tetrathionate brilliant green (43°C) and selenite cystine (35°C), and isolation of presumptive isolates on bismuth sulfite and brilliant green sulfa agar media. Sample analysis by the 6-h standard method was identical to the above except that incubation of enrichment broths was reduced to 6 h; for direct enrichment. preenrichment in nutrient broth was omitted. Of 287 samples tested, 75 were found to contain salmonellae by the three methods combined. Ability of the standard and 6-h standard methods to identify the same 58 contaminated samples underlines the reliability of the 6-h standard method for the more rapid detection of Salmonella in animal feeds. Identification of 68 positive samples by direct enrichment presumably resulted from equilibration (3 to 4 h) of feed slurries at reduced water activity before analysis. Addition of novobiocin (40 μg/ml) to selective enrichment broths did not facilitate isolation of Salmonella through repression of competitive flora. Productivity of the six enrichment-plating combinations used in this study was comparable, and no single medium played a determinant role in recovery.