Prevalence of Salmonella in pig ear pet treats

Salmonella is one of the most important causes of foodborne disease throughout the world. In recent years there have been documented outbreaks of Salmonella infection in humans associated with pet treats of animal origin; in particular pig ear pet treats in Canada and the United States. The main objectives of this study were to determine the degree of Salmonella contamination in dried pig ear dog treats on sale in Limerick City, Ireland and to examine pet dogs for Salmonella carriage. Over a 12. month period, from October 2008 to September 2009, 102 pig ear pet treats were sampled using both a conventional culture detection method and a PCR method. Salmonella was detected in 24.5% of samples by the culture method, while 28.4% tested positive using a PCR method. Resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent was observed in 50% of Salmonella isolates. Salmonella was not detected in any of 86 rectal swabs from dogs attending 2 different veterinary clinics between February and April and August and October of that period. The contaminated ears were traced back to a single distributor. This study emphasises that there is a long term continuing risk of human exposure to Salmonella associated with pig ear treats.