Minimization of Salmonella contamination on raw poultry

Many reviews have discussed Salmonella in poultry and suggested best practices to minimize this organism on raw poultry meat. Despite years of research and conscientious control efforts by industry and regulatory agencies, human salmonellosis rates have declined only modestly and Salmonella is still found on raw poultry. Expert committees have repeatedly emphasized the importance of controlling risk, but information about Salmonella in poultry is often limited to prevalence, with inadequate information about testing methods or strains of Salmonella that are detected by these methods and no information about any impact on the degree of risk. This review examines some assumptions behind the discussion of Salmonella in poultry: the relationships between sampling and cultural methodology, prevalence and numbers of cells, and the implications of serotype and subtype issues. Minimizing Salmonella contamination of poultry is not likely to reduce human salmonellosis acquired from exposure to contaminated chicken until these issues are confronted more systematically.