| Summary: | Chicken is the most popular meat in the United States, and consumers may be exposed to multidrug resistant <i>Salmonella</i> and <i>Campylobacter</i> through consumption of retail chicken breasts. This study aimed to (i) determine the percentage of raw, packaged, retail chicken breasts from 27 metro areas that tested positive for <i>Salmonella</i> and <i>Campylobacter</i>; (ii) investigate the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of a subset of the isolates; and (iii) compare the <i>Salmonella</i> prevalence data to establishment level <i>Salmonella</i> categorization data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG) methodology was used to isolate and identify <i>Salmonella</i> (<i>n</i> = 672), <i>Campylobacter</i> (<i>n</i> = 499) from 400 g samples. National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) methodology was followed for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of <i>Salmonella</i> (<i>n</i> = 52) and <i>Campylobacter</i> (<i>n</i> = 16) isolates. <i>Salmonella</i> was found in 8.6% of samples and <i>Campylobacter</i> in 4.2%. Having a 3 rating in USDA’s <i>Salmonella</i> Categorization of Individual Establishments for chicken parts was predictive of having a higher <i>Salmonella</i> percent positive in our data set (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). A total of 73.1% of <i>Salmonella</i> isolates, and 62.5% of <i>Campylobacter</i> isolates were resistant to ≥one class of antibiotics, with 48.1% of <i>Salmonella</i> isolates resistant to ≥three classes. Current results support interventions that take a ‘farm-to-fork’ approach with distinction by poultry types and parts as well as serovars, to lower antibiotic resistant <i>Salmonella</i> infections in humans due to poultry. <b>Highlights:</b> <i>Salmonella</i> was found in 8.6% and <i>Campylobacter</i> in 4.2% of chicken breasts tested; A 3 rating by USDA was predictive of a higher <i>Salmonella</i> percent positive; 48.1% of <i>Salmonella</i> isolates were resistant to 3 or more classes of antibiotics.
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