Abstract
Salmonella species isolated from chicken meat pose an increasing threat to public health. According to ECDC data, salmonellosis cases have shown a significant upward trend in many European countries between 2019 and 2023, almost reaching pre-pandemic levels. EFSA reported 77,486 confirmed human cases in the EU in 2023. This corresponds to a notification rate of 18 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 15.4 cases per 100,000 in 2022. This study evaluated the prevalence of Salmonella spp., antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles, and the effectiveness of natural biological preservatives in raw chicken meat obtained from retail outlets in Southeast Turkey. Among 100 samples analyzed according to ISO 6579-1:2017, suspicious colonies were detected after selective enrichment in XLD and n = 3 isolates were confirmed to be Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis by real-time PCR. Disk diffusion tests performed in accordance with EUCAST showed that all isolates were resistant to beta-lactam, tetracycline, trimethoprim, sulfonomid and aminoglycoside groups. All isolates were classified as multidrug-resistant. PCR detected blaTEM-1 (all isolates), aphA1-IAB (all isolates), aadA1 (two isolates), and sul1 (all isolates), while tetA/tetB genes were not detected. Among the natural compounds tested, carvacrol showed the strongest antimicrobial activity (MIC 1.56 µL/mL; MBC 3.125-6.25 µL/mL; inhibition zones 32-35 mm). Eugenol showed moderate effects with higher MIC/MBC values (3.125-6.25 µL/mL/12.25 µL/mL), while α-terpineol was effective only at higher concentrations. These findings are consistent with the global increase in Salmonella Infantis and AMR, supporting carvacrol followed by eugenol and α-terpineol as promising natural alternatives for controlling MDR Salmonella spp. in food safety applications.