Birds
that are also raised in close proximity to other birds increase
the likelihood of horizontal transfer. Because Salmonella
has several opportunities to be introduced to the
host, there is an increased risk of Salmonella reaching the
consumer. Given the widespread environmental dissemination
of foodborne Salmonella spp., it is not unreasonable
to speculate that salmonellae have several physiological
systems for survival under a variety of different suboptimal
growth conditions. Consequently, it represents an
ideal foodborne pathogen model with which to examine
the relative efficacy of antimicrobial compounds as single additives or in combination with other hurdle intervention
technologies. In the following sections, Salmonella
pathogenesis and methods for studying virulence expression
are described.