Salmonella Prevalence and Quantification in Market Hog Lymph Nodes and Tonsils in Several Regions and Seasons of the United States.

Market hog lymph nodes (LNs) can contaminate carcasses with Salmonella, as well as ground and comminuted pork products. The objective of this study was to perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of LNs from several regions and seasons in the United States to establish a Salmonella prevalence and concentration baseline. Six types of LNs (axillary, mesenteric, subiliac, tracheobronchial, superficial inguinal, prescapular), and tonsils were sampled from market hog carcasses from different regions (east, central, and west) and seasons (winter, spring, and summer/fall).

Validation of a Bacteriophage Hide Application to Reduce STEC in the Lairage Area of Commercial Beef Cattle Operations.

Finalyse, a T4 bacteriophage, is a pre-harvest intervention that utilizes a combination of bacteriophages to reduce incoming O157:H7 prevalence by destroying the bacteria on the hides of harvest-ready cattle entering commercial abattoirs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Finalyse, as a pre-harvest intervention, on the reduction in pathogens, specifically O157:H7, on the cattle hides and lairage environment to overall reduce incoming pathogen loads. Over 5 sampling events, a total of 300 composite hide samples were taken using 25 mL pre-hydrated Buffered Peptone Water (BPW) swabs, collected before and after the hide wash intervention, throughout the beginning, middle, and end of the production day ( = 10 swabs/sampling point/timepoint).

Mitigation of in Ground Pork Products through Gland Removal in Pork Trimmings.

Bio-mapping studies conducted in pork harvest and fabrication facilities have indicated that is prevalent and mitigations are needed to reduce the pathogen in trim and ground products. can be isolated from the lymph nodes and can cause contamination in comminuted pork products. The objective of this study was to determine if physically removing topical and internal lymph nodes in pork products prior to grinding would result in the mitigation of and a reduction in indicators in the final ground/comminuted products.

Bio-Mapping of Microbial Indicators and Pathogen Quantitative Loads in Commercial Broiler Processing Facilities in South America.

A bio-mapping study was conducted with the aim of creating a microbiological baseline on indicator organisms and pathogens in commercial broiler processing facilities located in a country in South America. Whole chicken carcass and wing rinses were collected from five stages of the poultry processing line: live receiving (LR), rehanger (R), post-evisceration (PE), post-chilling (PC), and wings (W). Rinses ( = 150) were enumerated using the MicroSnap™ system for total viable counts (TVC) and Enterobacteriaceae (EB), while the BAX-System-SalQuant and BAX-System-CampyQuant™ were used for and , respectively.