The Prevalence of Salmonella from Cheek Meat and Head Trim in a Pork Processing Plant in the United States

Pork head meat, cheek meat, lymph nodes, and other carcass by-products may become contaminated with Salmonella in pork slaughter facilities. In a preliminary survey, a large pork processing plant in the United States was sampled bimonthly from January to July of 2015 to determine the prevalence, seasonality, and serotype diversity of Salmonella enterica (SE) isolated from cheek meat and head trim of swine carcasses.

Each cheek meat and head trim collection period (January, March, May, July) consisted of 25 samples collected on a Monday a.m., 25 on Monday p.m., 25 on Tuesday a.m., and 25 on Tuesday p.m., for a total of 100 cheek meat and 100 head trim samples (total of 200 for each period, total of 800 for 4 periods). Tissues were cultured for SE by described procedures using restrictive media and enrichment techniques. SE isolates were serotyped by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Ames, IA, USA.

The percentages of SE-positive samples were 19.8% for cheek meat and 19.5% for head trim. The following were the results of isolations from cheek meat and head trim, respectively. January: 30% and 33%; March: 24% and 24%; May: 14% and 5%; and July: 11% and 16%. Serotypes (19) included: Derby; Heidelberg; Senftenberg; Muenchen; Typhimurium var 5-; Brandenburg; 4,12:i-; Rough_O:gst; London; Infantis; Enteritidis; Westhampton; Alachua; Ohio; Bredeney; 4,[5],12:i-; Mbandaka; Rissen; and Anatum.

These preliminary data suggest that pork products from the head may have a relatively high carriage rate of SE which includes a diverse population of serotypes, and based on results to date, there appears to be an effect of season on the prevalence of SE in head and cheek meat.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.