Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate Salmonella contamination in fresh pork in Nanjing and test the antibiotic resistance of Salmonella isolates. RT-PCR was used to primarily examine whether fresh pork samples collected from local supermarkets or farmers’ markets were contaminated by Salmonella. Salmonella was isolated and identified from contaminated samples according to relevant national standards and tested for antibiotic resistance. A total of 21 of 83 pork samples were found to be positive for Salmonella with a positive rate of 25.3%. Seven of the positive samples were resistant to at least of one of 11 tested antibiotics with a resistance rate of 33.3%. Our results suggest the serious microbial contamination in fresh pork in Nanjing with high positive rate and tetracycline resistance. In addition, chilled pork was superior to fresh pork in terms of aerobic plate count and positive rate. No significant differences were found between fresh pork marketed in local supermarkets and farmers’ markets.

Key words: pork, Salmonella, antibiotic resistance