Investigating the Prevalence of Foodborne Pathogens and Profiling the Antimicrobial Resistance of Salmonella in Commercial Pet Foods

Pets are becoming an integral part of human life. The increasing trend of humanization and premiumization of pets is also leading to increased risk to pet owners from handling pet foods, especially raw pet foods. This project aims to evaluate commercially available pet foods and their microbiological quality focusing on Salmonella spp. Along with their antibiotic resistance profiling.The overall goal of this project is to improve human public health and safety by gaining knowledge on the prevalence, identification, and characterization of Salmonella associated with commercial pet foods. The pet food HACCP course, offered to the stakeholders, will provide the pet food manufacturers with the knowledge and understanding of the importance of developing food safety plans and protocols in the facility.Objective 1 A-C: ResearchObjective 1A: Isolate foodborne Salmonella from commercial pet foods.Objective 1B: Phenotypic characterization of the Salmonella, and screen for antibiotic sensitivity profile.Objective 1C: (Evaluate an acidulant antimicrobial compound against the isolated MDR Salmonella isolates in-vitro and in food matrices.Objective 2: ExtensionObjective 2: (Byron Chaves) Develop and deliver a virtual Pet Food HACCP composed of three modules:1) Introduction to Pet Food Safety,2) Regulatory Framework for the Safety of Pet Foods, and3) Applications of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)System to the Pet Food Industry.