Abstract

The EF-18 agar/hydrophobic grid membrane filter (EF18/HGMF) method was evaluated for the isolation of Salmonella in naturally contaminated chicken carcasses, chicken parts (legs, wings and giblets) and processed chicken products (sausages and hamburgers). Percentages of false positive results for Salmonella (colonies with a similar morphology to those of Salmonella) were 78.75, 81.67 and 80% for carcasses, chicken parts and processed chicken products, respectively. The bacterial isolates that caused false positive reactions using this method were identified as Proteus mirabilis (70.85%), Citrobacter freundii (15.25%), Klebsiella ozaenae (5.83%), Hafnia alvei (4.48%), Escherichia coli (2.69%) and Enterobacter aerogenes (0.90%). The data obtained in this study suggest that the EF-18/HGMF method is not sufficiently selective or specific for isolating Salmonella from meat and chicken products.

• Keywords: Salmonella; poultry products; medium; EF-18; HGMF