Salmonella can cause salmonellosis and is "the leading cause of foodborne illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States,"1 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Despite concerted efforts to reduce Salmonella infections, incidences continue to be higher than the targeted rates set by the CDC-driven Healthy People 2030 initiative.2 Recently, the number of domestically acquired foodborne illnesses caused by nontyphoidal Salmonella (i.e., strains that do not cause Typhoid fever), have been estimated to be as high as 1.28 million cases per year,3 resulting in an estimated annual economic burden of $17.1 billion USD.4
Salmonella testing along the farm-to-table continuum plays an important role in reducing Salmonella risks by providing validation and verification of Salmonella control strategies. However, Salmonella testing, especially when following reference methods from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS), requires a high level of expertise and can be labor-intensive. Furthermore, results may take over a week to finalize.