EVALUATION OF THE BEHAVIOR OF SALMONELLA ENTERICA IN REHYDRATED DRY DOG FOODS

Abstract

Recent human salmonellosis outbreaks associated with dry dog foods have raised concern over these products as potential vehicles for Salmonella. In this study, different behavior (decline or growth) of Salmonella across twenty-six different brand dog foods that were rehydrated to a moisture content of 35% and stored at 30°C for 72 hr were characterized. Decline data were fitted with log-linear model and growth data were fitted by reparameterized Gompertz model. The distributions for the parameters in the fitted reparameterized Gompertz model were obtained. The effects of pH and water activity of rehydrated dog foods on changes in Salmonella levels (Log CFU/g) within 72 hr were modeled by the second order polynomial regression. The results can be implemented in the future quantitative microbial risk assessment studies. This study was useful in providing critical information regarding Salmonella and dog food to develop effective contamination prevention and mitigation strategies.