Salmonella enterica is a large group of Gram-negative bacteria responsible for a number of foodborne infections associated with the consumption of contaminated poultry products. The hygienic status of raw chicken meat marketed at Ibague, Tolima, Colombia, is currently unknown. To address this issue, a cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella spp., in raw chicken marketed at different outlets in this city. Salmonella spp. was isolated by standard microbiological methods, followed by biochemical, serological, and molecular confirmation. Additionally, risk factors associated with the presence of the bacteria were identified. The prevalence of Salmonella in raw chicken was 17.41% (47/270), and 14 different serotypes were found, out of which S. Paratyphi B (36.17%), S. Hvittingfoss (19.15%) and S. Muenster (10.64%) were the most prevalent and represented 65.95% of all serotypes. Amplification of 284 bp of the invA gene was achieved by PCR in a number of randomly selected isolates. Raw chicken as the only type of meat sold at stores (odds ratio: 2,157, p<0.05), and stainless steel as a contact surface of chicken meat (odds ratio: 13,29, p<0.05), were found to be potential risk factors for the presence of Salmonella in chicken meat. This work serves as a reference about the current status of Salmonella in chicken meat marketed in Ibague, Tolima, Colombia, and indicates the need to establish appropriate control and contingency measures to minimize the presence of the bacteria in raw chicken to prevent its transmission to humans.

. Se basa en el desempeño de roles profesionales, donde alumnos de LABTEC que elaboran alimentos actúan como productores que requieren análisis microbiológicos; los alumnos de LMA actúan como proveedores del servicio de control microbiológico. Se elaboran solicitudes y reportes formales, basados en normas de referencia, para que se pueda concluir sobre la calidad higiénica del alimento. La estrategia ha permitido a los participantes, una experiencia muy cercana al ejercicio profesional, para evaluar buenas prácticas de manufactura, trabajo individual y en equipo. Todos desarrollaron habilidades de comunicación profesional, solución de problemas y conciencia sobre la importancia de la calidad higiénica de los alimentos. El control microbiológico en LABTEC se ha realizado sin recursos adicionales, pues se aplican aquellos destinados a las prácticas de LMA. Además de la experiencia de aprendizaje, se está generando mejora continua en ambas asignaturas. Abstract. Microbiological control service (SCM) as a didactic strategy is aimed to those students in laboratories of food technology (LABTEC) and food microbiology (LMA), at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México's School of Chemistry (FQ). It is based in professional role playing; LABTEC students elaborate the products and act as food producers in need of microbiological analysis; LMA students perform as service providers, for microbiological control. They elaborate formal requests and microbiological analysis report, based on mandatory standards, which can lead to conclusions about product's hygienic quality. The strategy has given students an experience close to professional practice, to evaluate good manufacturing practices, individual and team work. All developed professional communication skills, problems identification and proposals for solving them, as well as consciousness about the importance of hygienic quality of food. The microbiological control in LABTEC has been carried out without the need for additional resources, since those intended for LMA practices are applied to these real samples. The experience is generating continuous improvement in both courses.