The prevalence and profile of resistance to antimicrobials of Salmonella serovars isolated from raw pork sausage were studied in Lages county, Santa Catarina, Brazil. A total of 125 samples of 12 trademarks were collected in different commercial establishments. Salmonella sp. was present in 12.8% (16/125) of the samples and Typhimurium serovar was the most prevalent. Fourteen different antimicrobials were tested and most of the samples showed resistance to sulfonamide and tetracycline (81.2%). Eight positive samples (50%) were resistant at least to four antimicrobials, being considered as multi-resistant Salmonella. Seven (58.3%) trademarks were disagreement with the Brazilian law, representing a risk to the public health. The high level of resistance to the antimicrobials should produce a concern by the pig industry and veterinarians in order to prevent the transmission of resistant strains through the food chain.
sausage; swine; Salmonella sp.; antimicrobials; multi-resistant