Bio-mapping studies conducted in pork harvest and fabrication facilities have indicated that Salmonella is prevalent and mitigations are needed to reduce the pathogen in trim and ground products. Salmonella can be isolated from the lymph nodes and can cause contamination in comminuted pork products. The objective of this study was to determine if physically removing topical and internal lymph nodes in pork products prior to grinding would result in the mitigation of Salmonella and a reduction in indicators in the final ground/comminuted products. In total, three treatment groups were assigned in a commercial pork processing facility as follows: (1) untreated control, (2) topical (surface) glands removed before grinding, and (3) topical, jowl, and internal lymph nodes and glands removed before grinding. Indicator microorganisms were determined using the BioMérieux TEMPO® system and the quantification of Salmonella was performed using the BAX® System Real-Time Salmonella SalQuant® methodology. The removal of lymph nodes located on the topical and internal surfaces and in the jowl significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the presence of Salmonella and also reduced the presence of indicator organisms according to this study. Briefly, 2.5-Log CFU/sample of Salmonella was initially observed in the trim samples, and the ground samples contained 3.8-Log CFU/sample of Salmonella. The total numbers were reduced to less than 1-Log CFU/sample in both trim and ground products. This study indicates a need for lymph node mitigation strategies beginning prior to harvest, in order to prevent contamination in further-processed pork products.
Keywords: Salmonella; lymph node; quantification; risk assessment.