Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review the global body of evidence on interventions to control Salmonella in the beef and pork chains.
Methods: A rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of the global research literature was conducted to determine the efficacy of interventions to control Salmonella in beef and pork from primary production to processing. The review was conducted using the following steps: comprehensive search strategy, relevance screening of abstracts, relevance confirmation of articles, risk-of-bias assessment, data extraction, meta-analysis (where appropriate), and a weight-of-evidence assessment for estimates of intervention efficacy.
Results: A total of 520 relevant articles were identified (n=309 for pork; 216 for beef). On farm, several interventions strategies were effective to control Salmonella in pigs in various contexts, while only biosecurity measures were consistently effective in cattle. Limited evidence was found for transport and lairage interventions for both pork and beef. During processing, high confidence was found in the estimates of effect for pre-chill hot water/steam treatments and organic acid washes to reduce Salmonella prevalence on beef and pork carcasses, respectively. Other interventions consistently effective under commercial conditions included chemical hide washes of cattle, and scalding and singeing of pork carcasses. Overall, the evidence supported enhanced reductions in Salmonella through a combination of interventions implemented concurrently or successively along the chain.
Significance: Various interventions can contribute to the control of Salmonella along the food chain continuum for beef and pork; the most appropriate combination of these should be guided by the local context and situation.