Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine Salmonella levels (prevalence and numbers) in turkey drumstick bone marrow, spleen, and neck skin samples in relation to Salmonella-status in the ground product.
Methods: In cooperating with a turkey production company, 15 drumsticks, spleens, and neck skins were collected per flock. The flocks sampled were either targeted or randomly selected. Target flocks were those with historically high grind Salmonella contamination data (i.e., >20%). All samples were tested for the presence and numbers of Salmonella according to USDA-FSIS selective enrichment and most probable number (MPN) methods.
Results: A total of 210 samples of each turkey part were collected and tested. Salmonella prevalence in neck skin, spleen, and bone was 51.0%, 5.2%, and 5.2%, respectively; whereas the means (log MPN/sample) were 2.02 (95% CI: 1.80-2.24), 1.59 (95% CI: 0.74-2.44), and 1.38 (95% CI: 1.16-1.59), respectively. Salmonella prevalence and numbers in spleens from target flocks were significantly higher than those from random flocks. At the flock level, when the spleen was Salmonella-positive, there was 80% probability that neck skin samples were also positive. Moreover, when internalized Salmonella MPN/g numbers were higher than zero, there was 80% probability that ground product samples were positive.
Significance: Our findings indicated that Salmonella was internalized in spleen and bones of turkeys at low levels. However, the contamination was at higher levels in neck skin which may pose risk toward ground turkey production.