The incidence and antibiotic resistance profiles of Salmonella spp. on Irish retail meat products

Irish retail meat (n = 74) and poultry samples (n = 106) were tested for th e presence of naturally occurring Salmonella spp The pathogen was detected in 28 poultry (n =106), two park (n = 22) and one cooked meat samples (n = 20) examined. Salmonella was not isolated from minced beef or lamb samples tested. Initial counts on samples ranged from 0 to log(10) 2.5 cfu g(- 1) . The most commonly isolated serotype was S. bredeney accounting for 48.4% f ollowed by S. kentucky (35.5%) and S. enteritidis (6.5%) Salmonella spp. (n = 31) isolated from food products were also examined for antibiotic resist ance A fetal of 155 strains (five strains from each isolate) were tested fo r resistance to 26 antibiotics using the Bauer method The percentage of sam ples showing antibiotic resistance amongst Salmonella isolates were as foll ows. Riampicin (100%); Tetracycline (92.92%); Oxytetracycline (86.26%); Sul phamethoxazole (86.25%) and Streptamycin (80.92%). (C) 1999 Academic Press.