Strategies to Manage Salmonella in Meat, Egg, and Dairy Processing Plants

Effective Salmonella control in food processing depends on strict sanitation, disciplined hygiene, environmental monitoring, and strong management systems. In meat, egg, and dairy processing, Salmonella can enter through raw materials, animals, and equipment, and survive in hard-to-clean areas, forming resilient biofilms-even in dry environments. Control strategies include multiple cleaning steps, validated disinfectants, proper equipment design, environmental testing, and zone separation. In eggs and dairy, farm-level measures and rapid refrigeration are essential, while pasteurization is highly effective for milk. Innovations such as phage biocontrol, advanced sanitizers, and physical treatments are being adopted, but outbreaks often result from management lapses or postprocess recontamination rather than technical limitations. Close integration of measures from farm to processing, rigorous monitoring, and a robust food safety culture are crucial for maintaining long-term reduction of Salmonella risk. Effective management practices in food processing facilities significantly influence Salmonella prevalence, thereby directly protecting public health. The evidence reviewed shows European industries, guided by zero-tolerance standards and farm-to-fork programs, have achieved substantial reductions in Salmonella over the past two decades, and ongoing vigilance at the processing stage remains crucial to maintaining these improvements. In the United States, the implementation of FSMA's preventive controls and continuous performance standards similarly highlights that preventing contamination in the plant is far more effective than responding to outbreaks after they occur.