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<p>Our specific objectives are:</p> <ol><li> to determine the prevalence of Salmonella in superficial lymph nodes, head trim, trim intended for ground, and in primal cuts such as loin and roasts;</li><li>to determine the serotypes of isolates;</li><li>determine antimicrobial susceptibilities of isolates;</li><li>if justified, use molecular techniques to determine the relatedness of isolates that are of the same serotype, but display differences in antimicrobial patterns; </li><li>ito evaluate novel intervention strategies for reduction of Salmonella on trim and edible meat products.</li><ol>
<p>Samples of pork, pork trim, and lymph nodes will be collected monthly for 12 months from swine carcasses at a large commercial pork processing facility in the southwestern U.S. Prevalence rates, serotype identification, and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella will be determined. Novel intervention strategies for pathogen reduction will be evaluated.</p>