Salmonella in meat meal

Summary

​Salmonella testing at four rendering plants processing red meat meal was undertaken to determine possible areas of improvement. A range of practical preventive measures was developed in the form of a salmonella problem solving guide. The problem solving guide was based on outcomes of the plant testing, discussions with processors and a risk assessment derived from a literature review. The perception that some cases of human salmonellosis could be traced back to meat meal is not well founded. There appears to be no correlation between our findings, poultry serovars and human cases of salmonellosis.
There is a perception that human cases of human salmonellosis could be traced back to meat meal. A review of documented salmonella serotype data across meat meal, chicken and humans in Australia was undertaken to determine whether there is a relationship. The salmonella serotype correlations and/or cause and effect relationship between meat meal, chickens and humans is difficult to assess and may be influenced by many factors. An important factor is other feeds/food eaten by chickens and humans which are not related in any way to the meat meal source. Nonetheless data were analysed and reported. The comparison of salmonella serotype data showed that for the most frequently reported serotypes, the same types were more likely to occur in chickens and humans, but not meat meal and humans.