Various culture-based methods to detect Salmonella in animal feed have been developed due to the impact of this bacterium on public and animal health. For this project, tris phosphate carbonate (TPC) and buffered peptone water (BPW) buffering capacities were compared as pre-enrichment mediums for the detection of Salmonella in feed ingredients. A total of 269 samples were collected from 6 feed mills and mixed with the pre-enrichments; pH was measured before and after a 24 h incubation. Differences were observed when comparing pH values by sample type; DDGS and poultry by-product meal presented lower initial pH values for TPC and BPW compared to the other samples. For both TPC and BPW, meat and bone meal presented higher final pH values, while soybean meal and peanut meal had lower final pH values. Furthermore, for BPW, post cooling, pellet loadout, and wheat middlings reported lower final pH values. Additionally, most feed ingredients presented significant differences in pH change after 24 h of incubation, except DDGS. From meat and bone meal samples, four Salmonella isolates were recovered and identified: three using BPW and one using TPC. TPC provided greater buffer capacity towards neutral pH compared to BPW, but BPW was more effective at recovering Salmonella.
Keywords: BPW; Salmonella; TPC; buffer; pre-enrichment.