of Salmonella
Two hundred samples of ground meat (51 samples of chicken,
50 of beef, 50 of turkey, and 49 of pork) were purchased at three
retail stores representing three supermarket chains in the greater
Washington, D.C., area between June and September 1998: 98 at
store 1, 54 at store 2, and 48 at store 3. All poultry and pork samples
were processed and packaged at one of four poultry-processing
plants and one pork-processing plant, respectively, whereas all
samples of beef were ground in the store and then packaged. Salmonella
was isolated from ground meats with the use of methods
described in the Bacteriological Analytical Manual of the Food
and Drug Administration.1