title: Salmonella EntericaPrevalence in Finishing Pigs at Slaughter Plants in Northern Italy.
abstract: Finishing pigs carryingSalmonella entericaare believed to be the main source of carcass contamination at the beginning of slaughtering. The aim of this study was to assess theS. entericacarrier status of finishing pigs at herd level by sampling pooled faeces on farm and mesenteric lymph nodes at slaughter in the North East of Italy. Environmental faecal samples belonging to 30 batches of pigs were collected on farm. At slaughter, mesenteric lymph nodes were collected from five randomly selected pigs per batch.S. entericawas isolated from 16 lymph nodes out of 150 (10.6%) and from seven out of 30 (23.3%) faecal samples. Four batches (13.3%) were positive toS. entericaboth in lymph nodes and in faeces. The number of batches positive toS. entericaeither in lymph nodes or in faeces was 13 out of 30 (43.3%). The most prevalent serovars from lymph nodes wereS. Derby (25.0%) andS. Typhimurium monophasic variant 1, 4,[5],12:i:- (18.6%), which were also isolated from faecal material (14.3 and 42.8% respectively). Contaminated faecal material or lymph nodes could be a primary source of carcass contamination at slaughter during evisceration.S. entericacontamination is widespread on pig farms and carrier pigs pass undetected the inspection visits at slaughter, entering the food chain. Therefore, in order to controlS. entericain pigs, the need to quantify possible risk factors at slaughter and develop effective management strategies on farm is of paramount importance to ensure food safety.
authors: Unità Operativa di Ispezione degli Alimenti di Origine Animale, Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma , Italy.
authors: Irene
authors: I
authors: Alpigiani
authors: Unità Operativa di Ispezione degli Alimenti di Origine Animale, Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma , Italy.
authors: Cristina
authors: C
authors: Bacci
authors: Unità Operativa di Ispezione degli Alimenti di Origine Animale, Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma , Italy.
authors: Elisa
authors: E
authors: Lanzoni
authors: Unità Operativa di Ispezione degli Alimenti di Origine Animale, Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma , Italy.
authors: Franco
authors: F
authors: Brindani
authors: Unità Operativa di Ispezione degli Alimenti di Origine Animale, Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma , Italy.
authors: Silvia
authors: S
authors: Bonardi
keywords: Finishing pigs; Food safety; Salmonella enterica