The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) is a national public health surveillance system through which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) partners with state and local public health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to track changes in antimicrobial susceptibility of select foodborne bacteria found in ill people (CDC), retail meats (FDA), and food animals (FSIS).

This FSIS NARMS Multi-Year Report evaluates trends in Salmonella serotypes and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in certain food animal species and products sampled from 2014 through 2019 as part of FSIS NARMS sampling. This is the first multi-year Salmonella trend analysis of NARMS data to focus on samples collected by FSIS.

Samples analyzed included cecal (intestinal content) samples from food-producing animals at slaughter and product samples tested as part of Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) sampling (henceforth stated as product sampling). Salmonella isolates were analyzed by serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST)[1] to evaluate differences in sample source and slaughter class (chicken, turkey, cattle, and swine).

This report is intended to highlight certain data trends to identify emerging areas of concern in antimicrobial resistance and Salmonella serotypes of public health concern. This report is focused on Salmonella findings only.

[1] Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST):  Laboratory testing performed on bacteria to find out if they are susceptible or resistant to one or more antimicrobial drugs. The antimicrobial drugs selected for testing are based on their importance in human and veterinary medicine. AST is used to guide options for antimicrobial drug selection and potential for effective patient treatment.