Prevalence and characterization of Salmonella in two integrated broiler operations in Korea

Background Vertical integration of the broiler industry allows producers to combine different biosecurity and sanitation practices, housing technologies, and feeding regimens to improve food safety. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and distribution of Salmonella, to determine the source of Salmonella contaminants, and to reveal the relationships between isolates at each step in the vertically integrated broiler production system in two representative integrated broiler companies in Korea. Results A total of 2148 samples were collected from 2 broiler breeder hatcheries, 14 broiler breeder farms, 3 broiler hatcheries, 16 broiler farms, 8 broiler transporting trucks and 6 slaughterhouses belonging to representative integrated broiler companies, and 205 (9.5%) of these samples were positive for Salmonella. The Salmonella prevalence in broiler hatcheries (34.0%) and broiler transporting trucks (62.5%) was higher (P < 0.05) whereas that in the broiler breeder hatchery (0.8%) was lower (P < 0.05), than the overall prevalence. Nine and 13 different Salmonella serotypes were isolated from integrated companies A and B, and the predominant serotypes were S. Virchow (39.7%) and S. Hadar (59.2%), respectively. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis patterns of isolates from the two operations showed significant genetic relatedness within a single system. Conclusions In a comparison of the two operations that participated in this study, the prevalence of Salmonella differed significantly between the broiler breeder hatchery, and broiler hatcheries and broiler farms.