Influence of sampling methodology on reported incidence of Salmonella in poultry

Salmonella is a major pathogen associated with poultry food products. Over the past 20 years, pressure to reduce human illness from poultry-related salmonellosis has resulted in intensive research activity as well as stronger regulatory standards in Europe, North America, and, because of international trade policies, throughout the world. In the United States, implementation of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point-based inspection program has been credited with reducing the incidence of Salmonella-positive carcasses from approximately 20 to 10%. Since 1998, however, the reported incidence of Salmonella in retail poultry from 12 countries implementing similar pathogen reduction programs, including the United States, has averaged 29% positive for Salmonella. Although these reports examined products at retail outlets and used a variety of sampling methodologies, these results appear to contradict the U.S. Department of Agriculture claims for Salmonella reduction. The purpose of this review is to examine this contradiction with a focus on the potential impact of sampling methodology on reported incidences of Salmonella.