| Abstract: | Salmonella is a zoonotic bacteria threatening food safety, especially in the poultry industry. There are thousands of serovars, but S. Kentucky, S. Heidelberg, S. Enteritidis, and S. Typhumirum are the most commonly detected serovars in poultry. The poultry industry invests much time and money in preharvest and post-harvest interventions to reduce the prevalence of Salmonella. We assessed boot swab samples taken at the farm along with hot rehang, prechill, post chill, and chicken part samples collected at two geographically processing facilities to determine the effect of preharvest and post harvest interventions on Salmonella prevalence. Carcass rinse samples were taken using the rinsates Buffered Pepton Water (BPW) and Neutralizing Buffered Peptone Water nBPW to collect hot rehang, prechill, post chill, poultry parts, and boot swabs. The samples were analyzed for Salmonella presence or absence using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). We found that Salmonella prevalence was significantly associated with the season and the location of the poultry processing facility. We also found that some hatchery vaccines were significantly associated with a reduction in Salmonella prevalence. When preharvest interventions were used individually, such as gentamicin, the prevalence of Salmonella was reduced. When used in conjunction with Megan Vac 1, there was no reduction or change in the prevalence of Salmonella. Using a treatment in the water (PWT℗ʼ, Aquaprime℗ʼ, litter (PLT℗ʼ), and feed (OptiBac℗ʼ) contributed to a reduction of Salmonella prevalence. Post harvest interventions like PAA aid with continuous reduction of prevalence, especially in post chill samples and finished products. We saw a significant reduction in Salmonella prevalence from hot rehang samples to post chill samples. Although the prevalence of Salmonella is high at hot rehang, this research provides evidence that investing in some preharvest interventions may provide a reduction in Salmonella. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/198087 |
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