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Serotypes Profile of Salmonella Isolates from Meat and Poultry Products
January 1998 through December 2007
Tables and figures are available in the PDF version of this document. Links to CDC and other sites outside USDA open in a second window.

Background

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued the Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) Systems, Final Rule on July 25, 1996: Federal Register, Vol. 61, No. 144, pp. 38805-38989 (https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080921185755/http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/
FRPubs/93-016F.pdf
). The PR/HACCP rule sets Salmonella performance standards for establishments slaughtering selected classes of food animals or producing selected classes of raw ground products to verify that industry systems are effective in controlling the contamination of raw meat and poultry products with disease-causing bacteria. Raw products with established performance standards include: carcasses of cows/bulls, steers/heifers, market hogs, broilers and turkeys. Processed products measured by performance standards include: ground beef, ground chicken, and ground turkey. The performance standards for these product classes are based on the prevalence of Salmonella as determined from the Agency's nationwide microbiological baseline studies conducted before PR/HACCP was implemented. Guidance using young turkey carcass baseline levels can be found in the Federal Register, Vol.70, No. 32, pp.8058-8060 (https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080921185755/http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/02-046N.pdf).
The product-specific FSIS Salmonella limits became effective in large establishments on January 26, 1998, in small establishments on January 25, 1999, and in very small establishments on January 25, 2000. FSIS inspection personnel verify that establishments are meeting the standards by collecting randomly selected product samples and submitting them to one of three FSIS laboratories for Salmonella analysis, according to procedures described in Appendix E of the PR/HACCP Final Rule: Federal Register, Vol. 61, No. 144, pp. 38917-38928 (https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080921185755/http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/93-016F.pdf).

After one of the FSIS Field Service laboratories in Athens, GA; Alameda, CA; or St. Louis, MO, reports the analysis results, isolates of Salmonella-positive samples become eligible for serotyping at the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, IA. Salmonella testing and serotype data, along with complementary data from molecular and phenotypic analyses, provide an opportunity to examine the association among serotypes isolated on-farm, from meat and poultry products, and from human cases of salmonellosis.
Prior to 2006, there were two phases of the FSIS regulatory program for Salmonella in raw products: non-targeted and targeted testing. FSIS collected non-targeted or "A" set samples at establishments randomly selected from the population of eligible establishments, with a goal of scheduling every eligible establishment at least once a year. Other codes (such as "B", "C", and "D") represented sample sets collected from establishments targeted for follow-up testing following a failed set.

Beginning June 2006, establishments were scheduled based on new criteria (https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080921185755/http://www.fsis.usda.gov/pdf/
scheduling_criteria_salmonella_sets.pdf
) that are risk-based, not random, and are designed to focus FSIS resources on establishments with the most samples positive for Salmonella and the greatest number of samples with serotypes most frequently associated with human salmonellosis, as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080921185755/http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/phlisdata/salmonella.htm). Beginning with the second 2006 quarterly report, serotype data are summarized from all sample sets.

Note: Restructuring how Salmonella sets are scheduled means that comparison of results from 2006 onwards to previous years would not be appropriate. For such comparisons, the results of upcoming nationwide baseline studies can provide valid estimates of the prevalence of certain pathogens of public health concern and will permit valid statistical comparisons to be made over time.

From January 1998 through December 2005, Salmonella isolates were serotyped for four carcass and three raw ground product classes. Starting in June 2006, Salmonella isolates were also serotyped for turkey carcasses. Each of the eight tables presented in this report (PDF Only) identifies the ten most commonly isolated Salmonella serotypes by calendar year in a specific carcass or raw ground product class. When more than one serotype ranks in tenth place, each serotype in tenth place is listed. The Agency believes that researchers can use this product-specific serotype information to support foodborne pathogen surveillance. Future updates of serotype distribution results will be provided. Figure 1 displays, by year, the most common serotype isolated in combined chicken classes (Kentucky), the ground turkey class (Hadar), combined cattle classes (Montevideo), and the market hog class (Derby) in 2007.

FSIS keeps abreast of serotypes emerging as human health concerns. Links are provided to the CDC data on the serotypes isolated from human cases of salmonellosis so that the reader has easy access to data on both the serotypes found in meat and poultry products and those causing human illness: Some of the more common serotypes isolated from meat and poultry products are rarely isolated from human patients. Conversely, some of the serotypes frequently found in human cases of salmonellosis are found in various meat and poultry products. Serotypes identified from human cases of salmonellosis can also be found in other food and non food sources.

CDC identifies Enteritidis, Typhimurium, Newport, I 4, [5],12:i:-, Javiana, Heidelberg and Montevideo as the seven most commonly identified serotypes causing human infection in the United States. Combined, these serotypes accounted for a majority (61.6%) of human infections in the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) sites in 2007 (https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080921185755/http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/
mm5714a2.htm
). The percentages at which the top seven human serotypes are identified in meat and poultry product classes are presented in Figures 2-9. These serotypes are among the more commonly identified serotypes in meat and poultry products with the exception of Javiana, which is uncommon. Year-to-year variation both within and between product classes, with respect to these more common human serotypes, can be observed. Kentucky, Hadar, and Derby, the predominant serotypes identified in 2007 from meat and poultry products (Figure 1), were not found among the top seven serotypes identified in human surveillance data. As reported by the CDC, the incidence of Typhimurium and Heidelberg decreased, Newport and I4, [5],12:i- increased, and the others did not change significantly.

Human illnesses attributable to Salmonella Newport began to rise in the late 1990's. Newport is detected in all FSIS commodities; most frequently, the cattle classes (Figure 5). In 2003, Newport peaked as the most commonly isolated serotype in ground beef, which was the cattle class in which the most isolates were recovered. In 2007, Newport was the fourth most commonly identified serotype in ground beef. Newport isolations appear to have risen in frequency in 2007 in the other cattle classes (Figure 5). There were seven cow/bull (Table 3) and one steer/heifer (Table 4) isolates recovered.

CDC reported that a Salmonella serotype having the antigenic formula I 4, [5],12:i:- has been increasingly recognized since the mid 1990's in human illness cases. In 2007, the serotype was the 4th most commonly identified serotype in U.S. human surveillance data (https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080921185755/http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/
mmwrhtml/mm5714a2.htm
). FSIS laboratories did not report antigenic formulas until 2004. Prior to 2004, serotypes identified solely by antigenic formulas that would classify them as "monophasic" were included in the "unidentified" isolates category. In 2007, I 4,[5],12:i:- was the sixth most commonly identified serotype in broiler isolates (Table 1).

FSIS launched a Salmonella initiative in 2006 to prevent Salmonella contamination of poultry products and other meats. In 2007 in broiler establishments, the total percentage of positive samples was 8.5%, down from 11.4% in 2006 and from a high of 16.3% in 2005. FSIS verification testing showed a decrease in the proportion of Salmonella that are Enteritidis in broilers, an increase in the proportion that are Enteritidis in ground chicken (Figure 4), and an increase in the proportion that are Heidelberg in all poultry classes (Figure 7) in 2007.

Verification testing is a regulatory sampling program intended to assess the ability of meat and poultry establishments to comply with existing, product-specific performance standards. Serotype profile results are not intended to indicate a national prevalence for a specific serotype within a respective product class. Despite program limitations, FSIS believes that verification testing results presented in this report provide a good indication of relative serotype distributions in raw products for each product class for the ten years following implementation of the PR/HACCP final rule in federally inspected meat and poultry establishments. FSIS continues to work with public health partners to better identify the proportion of human salmonellosis attributable to FSIS-regulated products.

Results
  • Serotypes are reported by product class and by calendar year based on the date of sample collection from 1998 through 2007. The number of isolates of each serotype and category, the percent of total serotyped isolates, and the percent of total samples collected are displayed in Tables 1-8.

  • The ten most commonly isolated serotypes for a specified product class during a listed year are identified by name while less commonly identified serotypes are included in the "other serotypes" category. When there is more than one serotype in tenth place, all serotypes in tenth place are listed.

  • Included in the serotype profile are entries classified as "not typed" and "unidentified." Entries identified as not typed are those in which Salmonella serotyping was not performed. Unidentified entries include isolates in which a single specific serotype could not be determined. Prior to 2004, serotypes identified solely by antigenic formulas that would classify them as monophasic, such as I4,[5]12:i:-, were included in the unidentified isolates category.

  • From 1998-2005, only "A" set samples were included in the report. Beginning with the second 2006 quarterly report, data from all samples collected are summarized in the reports.

  • Variants of serotypes have been reported separately. Tables 1-3 and 5-8 display data for each product class when variants are combined for 2007. Table 4 (Steers/Heifers) do not require merging of variants as only one variant per serotype was observed. Merging variants is most useful in facilitating comparisons of the proportion of Salmonella Typhimurium in product classes with human health surveillance data: Typhimurium and Typhimurium variant Copenhagen (an O:5-negative variant of Salmonella Typhimurium) are combined and reported as Typhimurium in U.S. human health surveillance data (https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080921185755/http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/phlisdata/salmtab/
    2005/SalmonellaTable1_2005.pdf
    ).

  • The figures display the percent of isolates identified out of total isolates serotyped for each product class. The y-axis, representing the serotype percentage, varies from graph to graph because the level of different serotypes by commodity varies greatly and year-to-year variations in percentages are difficult to discern on one scale of high value.

Tables and Figures

All tables and figures are available in this 86-page PDF document.


Last Modified: August 7, 2008

 

 

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