Screening of feed components for Salmonella with polyvalent H agglutination.

The application of polyvalent H serology for screening certain feed components for Salmonella was evaluated. In a comparative study of 1,894 suspicious or known positive samples, Salmonella organisms were detected in 1,141 samples with the conventional method and in 1,134 samples with the polyvalent H method. A statistical analysis of the results obtained by both methods indicated that the polyvalent H method is as reliable as the conventional method. Salmonellae can be detected by this method within 60 hr, whereas conventional methods require at least 4 days. The speed and reliability of the polyvalent H method are desirable for routine quality assurance.