Increasing prevalence of hydrogen sulfide negative Salmonella in retail meats

•H2S negative Salmonella are prevalent in meat products in particular chicken.•H2S negative Salmonella are seen in all clinical important serotypes in particular S. Enteriditis.•H2S negative Salmonella possess virulent plasmid as common as H2S positive Salmonella.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production is considered a typical characteristic of Salmonella and an important marker for Salmonella isolation. In this study, a total of 82 (26%) Salmonella strains were isolated from 113 chicken and 204 pork samples, within which 49 Salmonella strains were H2S positive and 33 were H2S negative. Salmonella enterica serovar Derby was most prevalent in both pork and chicken followed by S. Typhimurium in pork and S. Heidelberg in chicken. Salmonella isolated from pork exhibited a much higher H2S positive rate than those from chicken (68% versus 31%). The most prevalent H2S negative serotypes were S. Derby (40%) and S. Heidelberg (30%) in chicken, and S. Typhimurium (23%) and S. Enteritidis (23%) in pork. spvC, a plasmid-encoded virulence marker, was detected in 51% and 42% of the H2S positive and negative Salmonella respectively. The presence of the two most important serotypes, S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium, as well as a virulence plasmid in H2S negative Salmonella suggested that H2S negative Salmonella is also a significant public health concern. Such finding warrants the development of an improved method for effective coverage of H2S negative Salmonella.