Prevalence of Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus in Chicken Meat and Pork from Cambodian Markets

Abstract

<i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> are two of the most common foodborne bacteria in animal-source foods (ASF) that cause illness worldwide. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of <i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>S. aureus</i> in chicken meat and pork in markets in Cambodia. Sampling was done in 52 traditional markets and 6 supermarkets in 25 provinces of Cambodia between October 2018 and August 2019. In total, 532 samples were obtained: chicken meat and pork (n = 408, 204 of each), chicken and pork cutting board swabs (n = 124, 62 of each). All samples were analyzed for the presence of <i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>S. aureus</i>; colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g) of coagulase-positive <i>Staphylococci</i> (CPS) were counted, and a subset of samples was also analyzed for the most probable number (MPN, n = 136) of <i>Salmonella</i>. The overall prevalence of <i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>S. aureus</i> were 42.1% (224/532) and 29.1% (155/532), respectively, with 14.7% (78/532) of samples containing both bacteria. The prevalence of <i>Salmonella</i> spp. in chicken meat was 42.6%, on chicken cutting board it was 41.9%, on pork it was 45.1%, and the pork cutting board 30.6%. Chicken meat had a significantly (<i>p-</i>value < 0.05) higher prevalence of <i>S. aureus</i>, 38.2%, compared to the chicken cutting board, 17.7%, pork 28.9%, and pork cutting board 11.3%. Mean MPN-<i>Salmonella</i> was 10.6 MPN/g in chicken and 11.1 MPN/g in pork samples. Average Log CFU/g of CPS in chicken and pork samples were 2.6 and 2.5, respectively. The results indicate that chicken meat and pork in Cambodia were highly contaminated with <i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>S. aureus</i>, posing risks to consumers' health. Urgent interventions are necessary to improve hygiene for safer meat in Cambodian markets.