Isolation and Identification of Salmonella

The samples for Salmonella isolation and identification were tested using the ISO 6579 protocol. After incubation, the pre‐enriched media (TSB) were cultured in a ratio of 1:10 on tetrathionate broth (HiMedia, LOT no. M032) and in a ratio of 1:100 on Rappaport Vassiliadis medium (HiMedia, LOT no. M880), followed by incubation at 37 and 42°C, respectively. After the incubation period, the cultures were streaked on xylose–lysine–deoxycholate agar (Merck, LOT no. 105287) and Salmonella‐Shigella agar (BD, LOT no. 274500) media. Suspected colonies for Salmonella spp. (H₂S‐producing and non‐lactose fermenter colonies) were selected for confirmatory biochemical tests. Isolates were cultured on Triple Sugar–Iron agar (HiMedia, LOT no. 211825), SIM medium (BD, LOT no. 211578), urea agar (Merck, LOT no. 108492), lysine iron agar (BD, LOT no. 211363), Simmons citrate agar (HiMedia, LOT no. M099) and Methyl Red‐Voges Proskauer broth (HiMedia, LOT no. GM070) for further confirmation of Salmonella spp. ONPG disks (HiMedia, LOT no. DD008) were used to detect the beta‐galactosidase activity of late lactose fermenters (Bahramianfard et al., 2021 (link)).