Studies on the Prevalence of Salmonella spp. in meat shop premises intended to sale meat for human consumption in North Kolkata, India

Food-borne diseases are the main problem particularly in developing countries and cause the majority of illness and death around the World. Food is the most important vehicle that transmits microorganisms to human (Vernam, 1991). Among these micro-organisms salmonellae still a major cause of food-borne human diseases (Soultose et al., 2003; Carraminana et al., 2004). Poultry and poultry products are frequently contaminated with salmonellae that can be transmitted to human through the handling of raw poultry carcasses and products, or through consumption of undercooked poultry meat (Bailey and Cosby,2003; Kimura et al., 2004). Salmonella outbreaks have been associated with improper cooking method, reheating of food and improper handling of food by food preparer (Gorman et al., 2002). Poultry meat is contaminated with salmonellae not only by infected poultry, but also by cross contamination with faeces, water, instruments and worker’s hand during the slaughter process and handling. Chicken might thus provide the main transmission route of infection, especially with the increasing consumer demand for this food. Salmonella species are a leading bacterial cause of acute gastroenteritis. These are of great concern because of their ability to International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 4 (2016) pp. 297-302 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com