Investigations were carried out at the desiccated coconut manufacturing ‘Mills’ in Ceylon to attempt to trace the source and sequence of salmonella contamination of desiccated coconut. It was found that one of the sources of contamination was animal excreta found on the mill premises—the yard where the nuts were stacked. Contamination was passed through the successive stages of preparation for manufacture and into the cutter which became the focal point of contamination within the dry section of the mill. The coconut appeared, in the majority of cases, to have been contaminated before drying. Some of the organisms survived the drying process. Two strains of S. senftenberg were found to be the most frequent contaminants of desiccated coconut.

These investigations were carried out with the assistance of the laboratory and field staff of the Ceylon Coconut Board, for whose co-operation many thanks are due; thanks are also due to Dr T. Velaudapillai formerly of the Medical Research Institute, Colombo for many helpful suggestions; to Dr Joan Taylor, Salmonella Reference Laboratory, Colindale, for identification of the salmonella serotypes; and to Dr Betty C. Hobbs, Food Hygiene Laboratory, Colinadale, for reading the manuscript.