Salmonella prevalence in market-age turkeys on-farm and at slaughter

The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of Salmonella in market-age turkeys on-farm and at slaughter (i.e., before and after feed withdrawal, catching, loading, transportation, and preslaughter holding). Thirty birds were randomly selected from each of 6 commercial turkey flocks scheduled to be loaded and shipped to the abattoir during the evening of the same day. Selected birds were euthanized on the farm, and the cloacal contents, large intestine, crop, ceca, liver and gallbladder, and spleen were aseptically collected. At the abattoir, 30 birds from the same flock were randomly selected from the slaughter line, and the crop, ceca, liver and gallbladder, and spleen were collected for subsequent culture at the laboratory. All flocks studied were positive for Salmonella at slaughter. No statistical difference was found between the overall prevalence on-farm and at slaughter. At both sampling points, the overall prevalence found was 33.3%. Diverging prevalence estimates were obtained based on the different sample types collected on-farm and at slaughter. In both cases, cecal content samples had the highest relative sensitivity (73.3% on-farm and 68.3% at slaughter). This study demonstrates that the preslaughter practices of feed withdrawal, catching, loading, transportation, and holding do not significantly alter the prevalence of Salmonella in market-age turkeys. Therefore, our results suggest that it may be possible to monitor the Salmonella status of turkey production farms based on samples collected at the abattoir.