Development of Neutralizing Buffered Peptone Water for Salmonella Verification Testing in Commercial Poultry Processing Facilities

Contaminated poultry continues to be a major source of human foodborne illness, and an estimated 2 million cases of foodborne illnesses can be traced to poultry each year in the United States. When the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) became aware of concerns that sanitizers used by commercial poultry processors might produce inaccurate results in Salmonella verification testing of commercially processed poultry, FSIS requested that the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) conduct research on the effect of sanitizer carryover on the recovery of Salmonella from test samples. After it was determined that sanitizer carry-over into test samples could reduce recovery of Salmonella, a neutralizing Buffered Peptone Water (nBPW) was formulated. The nBPW is now used in Salmonella verification testing in commercial poultry processing facilities in the U.S. and has been shown to enhance recovery of Salmonella from whole broiler carcasses in verification testing.