Project Summary – Missouri State Public Health Laboratory (MSPHL) The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), Missouri State Public Health Laboratory (MSPHL) proposes to support the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) Retail Meat Surveillance Program by continuing its current sampling of retail meats and testing for Salmonella and Campylobacter, Enterococcus, Aeromonas, Vibrio and other lactose positive bacteria. Sampling and testing will be performed as directed in the NARMS Retail Meat Surveillance Laboratory Protocol, including Whole Genome Sequencing and uploading of the data. Specifically, enhanced sampling consisting of eighty retail meat samples will be collected in the mid-Missouri area and tested monthly. The MSPHL will ship all isolates to the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) monthly, and perform monthly sample and testing data exchange with NARMS using the electronic log sheets provided by NARMS. Data will be shared with Missouri DHSS and local public health epidemiology programs. Outcomes include the testing of 960 retail meat samples annually, which will lead to increased numbers of isolates submitted; improved data quality, sample diversity and timeliness of isolate and data submissions. In addition, the sharing and review of testing and antimicrobial data will be used by epidemiology programs to detect food borne disease outbreaks and coordinate investigations; educate DHSS administrators, local public health officials and the general public on current and emerging health hazards; support food safety program awareness of antimicrobial resistance among the public; analyze for trends to inform DHSS management and assist with policy development; and data will be used by the laboratory to assess accuracy of testing results and quality assurance practices. Page 1 of 1