Radiation treatment of foods. II. Public health significance of irradiation-recycled Salmonella.

Salmonellae resistant to gamma irradiation were developed by repeated irradiation and subculturing in a nutrient broth-yeast extract medium. Few differences were noted in the biochemical characteristics of parent and resistant cultures; however, microculture studies revealed variations in morphology and in cell division patterns. A considerable decrease in pathogenicity for day-old chicks was apparent with resistant cultures, but their phenol-water extracts were as toxic as parent material for 10-day chick embryos. Five serial chick passages did not reverse the reduced pathogenicity or aberrant morphology of a resistant Salmonella typhimurium culture. Results of phage typing of both parent and serially irradiated S. typhimurium were inconclusive, whereas the O-1 genus-specific phage lysed all parent serotypes tested but only one of the serially irradiated cultures. Agglutination of parent S. typhimurium cells with their homologous rabbit antiserum was unaffected by prior absorption with resistant strains. The results indicate that radiation recycling altered Salmonella into strains of lesser public health significance.