Salmonella on pig carcassess during slaughter and processing

Salmonella is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens and the consumption of pork meat is one of the major sources of human infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of salmonella on pig carcasses. Samples were taken from slaughterhouse A in two instances (sampling I and II, a total of 300 samples) and in slaughterhouse B once (sampling III, a total of 120 samples), from pork carcasses after the stunning and after the processing. Of the total number of examined samples, the percentage of positive samples for salmonella from pork carcasses after stunning was 46.7% (90/42), and samples from the carcasses after processing 3.3% (90/3). Operations taking place on the slaughter line could have an effect on the salmonella contamination of carcasses.