A recommended method for detecting salmonellae in composted biosolids

It has been found in Australia and in the United States that composting does not always result in the complete removal of salmonellae from biosolids. It is therefore likely that monitoring of composted Biosolids for salmonellae will be required in Australia to ensure the safety of biosolids products. At present rapid methods of detection such as PCR and ELISA are not sufficiently developed to monitor environmental samples. The relative efficiency of various culture methods for detecting salmonellae in composted biosolids was therefore investigated. On the basis of the results a presence/absence method is recommended for the detection of salmonellae in biosolids products. The recommended technique involves pre-enrichment of samples, followed by enrichment in Rappaport-Vassiliadis and mannitol selenite enrichment broths, and isolation on lysine mannitol glycerol agar