Use of Quantitative Indicator Microorganism Data to Determine if Turkey Rehang and Postchill Sampling are Predictive of Salmonella enterica Contamination in Ground Turkey.

Salmonella enterica is a leading cause of foodborne illness worldwide, with poultry products serving as a major source of human infection. In the United States, Salmonella oversight in poultry relies on USDA-FSIS verification testing, which requires sampling 1 out of every 3,000 birds at rehang and postchill to assess process control. However, the extent to which microbial indicator data collected at these locations reflect contamination in final ground turkey products is not well characterized. This study evaluated the predictive value of microbial indicator testing for Salmonella contamination in ground turkey. A total of 455 samples were collected from 40 commercial turkey barns at a commercial processing facility, including 200 rehang, 200 postchill, and 55 grinding samples. Aerobic plate counts, Enterobacteriaceae, generic Escherichia coli, and Salmonella were detected and quantified. Significant differences in indicator levels were observed among processing stages (P < 0.0001), with the highest levels at rehang, substantial reductions at postchill, and reemergence during grinding. Salmonella detection was significantly higher in ground samples (30.97%) than at rehang (6.19%) or postchill (3.10%). No associations were observed between indicator levels and Salmonella presence at any sampling location (P > 0.05). While strong associations were observed between rehang and postchill indicator counts (P < 0.0001), no meaningful relationships were observed between either stage or grinding (P > 0.05). These findings indicate that indicator-based process control metrics do not reliably predict Salmonella contamination in ground turkey and highlight the need for product- and process-specific monitoring strategies.