NMDOH Scientific Laboratory Division Retail Meat Surveillance Program

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Project Summary Purpose The New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory Division (NMDOH SLD) has participated in the Retail Meat Surveillance (RMS) since 2004.The RMS study has traditionally focused on retail meat samples like raw chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, and pork that are derived from farm based live-stock animals such as bovines, poultry, and swine. The associated bacterial targets from these meat matrices have been Salmonella species, Campylobacter species (primarily C. jejuni and C. coli), Enterococcus species, and E. coli. Recently the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) program has moved in a strategic direction with an emphasis on a One Health model of monitoring, which is a multisectoral and transdisciplinary approach that looks at the interconnections between people, animals, plants, and the environment. This has and will continue to bring about new pilot studies that will expand testing to other meat matrices as well as to environmental samples such as surface waters and soils. The Environmental Microbiology (EM) Laboratory at NMDOH SLD is currently participating in the latest NARMS pilot study involving seafood and is doing well with isolating the intended targets: Vibrio species, Aeromonas species, Enterococcus species, and Lactose fermenters. EM Laboratory enjoys participating in the pilot study and currently has some method modifications to better improve recovery of some of the listed targets. The seafood pilot study is particularly important because the consumption of seafood, particularly aquaculture products, is projected to significantly increase and such industries rely heavily on the use of antibiotics to combat infectious diseases that threaten production. Purchasing activities have been limited, in terms of the monthly shopping frequency for raw meat samples and time allotments for such operations (limited to 3 hours), due to a shortage of qualified purchasing personnel equipped with P-cards. The EM Laboratory was recently provided with a P-card which will make it possible to expand shopping / sample gathering capabilities for the start of this upcoming grant cycle. No longer will the EM Laboratory be limited to just one shopping event per month, but instead is planning on going once per week. EM Laboratory personnel will additionally be able to purchase retail meat samples from other cities across the entire state of New Mexico that previously was not possible. Such temporal and geographical expansions should overall provide for more meaningful data to the NARMS program. Expected Outcomes The goal of this study is to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli and Enterococci isolated from retail samples of retail chicken, ground turkey, ground beef and pork chops purchased from grocery stores in New Mexico. The information obtained will also help our epidemiologists better understand the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in New Mexico. The laboratory will continue to provide testing for this project following established procedures and also participate in any pilot studies that are introduced. The approval of a P-card for the EM section will allow for additional coverage with the state of New Mexico over the five-year grant project. Page 1 of 1