Prevalence of Salmonella in Poultry Meat and Poultry Based Products From Veterinary Heallh Mark (VHM) Food Processing Plants in Central Region or Peninsular Malaysia, 2010 to 2012

Marina, A.R., Ismail, M., Nurzia, I., Kasmah, S., Mohd Isa, B. and Mohd Fharok, Y

Marina, A.R., Ismail, M., Nurzia, I., Kasmah, S., Mohd Isa, B. and Mohd Fharok, Y

This study reports the prevalence of Salmonella in poultry meat and poultry based products which were submitted by Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) Meat Inspectors from poultry processing plants situated in Central Region of Peninsular Malaysia to the Veterinary Public Health Laboratory (VPHL) for testing. A total of 2689 poultry meat and poultry based products were received from year 2010 to 2012. Samples liked chicken meat. nuggets, burgers and frankfurters were collected from 18 processing plant in four states of Peninsular Malaysia (Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Me!aka and Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur). These processing plants are under the Veterinary Health Mark Scheme (VHM) certified by DVS. This veterinary inspection and accreditation programme was developed in 1980’s to facilitate veterinary certification of animal and poultry products meant for export. Under this programme, accredited plants were awarded the Veterinary Health Mark logo (VHM). Salmonella was detected from 5.4% (145) of the samples. Salmonella enteriditis was the most frequent Salmonella serotype isolated from poultry meat and poultry based products. Other predominant Salmonella serotype identified were Salmonella albany (19.3%), Salmonella typhirium (7.6%), Salmonella agona (7.6%) and Salmonella corvallis (6.9%). The percentage of samples with Salmonella detected decreased from 2010 (40 out of 549; 7.3% of positive samples) to 2011 (35 out of 711; 4.9%) to 2012 (60 out of 1429; 4.2%).