U.S. Procedures Used in Test for Times

Michelson Laboratories Inc. in Commerce used a federally approved procedure for isolation of salmonella on poultry carcasses to test the chickens purchased by The Times.

The birds are first rinsed with a fluid. The fluid is retained and the solution tested for salmonella bacteria.

“We are not testing the meat itself but rinsing everything off and then we are testing the rinse fluid,” said John Fukuoka, supervisor of Michelson’s microbiology department.

The fluid is sampled by means of Gene Trak, a DNA probe, to determine if salmonella is present. If it appears that bacteria is evident in the sample, biochemical tests are run to confirm the results.

Fukuoka estimates the margin for error in the procedure is about 5%. “If a mistake is made then it would be on the side of calling something negative for salmonella (when in fact it is positive),” he said.