A comparison of procedures involving single step Salmonella, 1-2 Test, and modified semisolid Rappaport-Vassiliadis medium for detection of Salmonella in ground beef.

Procedures involving Single Step Salmonella (SSS), 1-2 Test, and Modified Semisolid Rappaport-Vassiliadis Medium (MSRV) were compared for their speed and sensitivity in detection of Salmonella in ground beef contaminated with one isolate of each of five Salmonella serotypes. Inocula of 10, 10(2) and 10(3) CFU/g of ground beef were used. When pre-enrichment in buffered peptone water and selective enrichment in tetrathionate broth were used, SSS and MSRV detected all five species of Salmonella at all levels of contamination, whereas the 1-2 Test was positive in 0, 12, and 15 of 15 tests at 10, 10(2) and 10(3) CFU/g, respectively. When only pre-enrichment was used, the results with MSRV were unchanged but the SSS test failed to detect S. typhimurium. Thus, with pre-enrichment the MSRV and SSS procedures were equally sensitive and both produced a result on the third day. The 1-2 Test was less sensitive and slower, with results available on day-4. The MSRV protocol was best overall.