[Effect of low temperatures on the count and virulence of salmonellae in slaughtered poultry]

Studied was the effect of shock freezing at -34 degrees C and the storing of slaughtered birds at -18 degrees C up to six months on the survival and the change in the virulence of Salmonella typhimurium, S. meleagridis, and S. gallinarum-pullorum. It was established that the number of the tested Salmonella species decreased steadily, however, no complete devitalizing was attained. The Salmonella count was most intensely reduced in the first fifteen days of storing. Most resistant to the effect of low temperature were S. typhimurium organisms, and least resistant was S. meleagridis. It was found that the virulence of the tested Salmonella strains gradually dropped, the amount of disappearing organisms correlating with the drop of their virulence.