Rapid Method for Detection of Salmonellae Attached to Chicken Skin¹

A rapid, sensitive nitrocellulose membrane lifting technique was developed to identify Salmonella typhimurium attached to chicken skin. Basically, this method used a nitrocellulose membrane to remove salmonellae attached to chicken skin. The membrane with attached salmonellae was then incubated on xylose lysine deoxycholate (XLD) agar for 18 h at 37°C. Appearance of black colonies on the white membrane was considered a positive presumptive test for salmonellae. Immunostaining of colonies on the nitrocellulose membrane was then used to confirm presence or absence of salmonellae. This technique can be used to identify salmonellae contamination of chicken skin in less than 24 h and was shown to be more sensitive than presently used swabbing or washing techniques .