Science Direct
Inhibition of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica on spinach and identification of antimicrobial substances produced by a commercial Lactic Acid Bacteria food safety intervention
The microbiological safety of fresh produce is of concern for the U.S. food supply. Members of the Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) have been reported to antagonize pathogens by competing for nutrients and by secretion of substances with antimicrobial activity, including organic acids, peroxides, and antimicrobial polypeptides. The objectives of this research were to: (i) determine the capacity of a commercial LAB food antimicrobial to inhibit Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica on spinach leaf surfaces, and (ii) identify antimicrobial substances produced in vitro by the LAB comprising the food antimicrobial. Pathogens were inoculated on freshly harvested spinach, followed by application of the LAB antimicrobial. Treated spinach was aerobically incubated up to 12 days at 7 °C and surviving pathogens enumerated via selective/differential plating. l-Lactic acid and a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) were detected and quantified from cell-free fermentates obtained from LAB-inoculated liquid microbiological medium. Application of 8.0 log10 CFU/g LAB produced significant (p < 0.05) reductions in E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella populations on spinach of 1.6 and 1.9 log10 CFU/g, respectively. It was concluded the LAB antimicrobial inhibited foodborne pathogens on spinach during refrigerated storage, likely the result of the production of metabolites with antimicrobial activity.
Mary Ann Leibert
Collaborative Survey on the Colonization of Different Types of Cheese-Processing Facilities with Listeria monocytogenes
Cross-contamination via equipment and the food-processing environment has been implicated as the main cause of Listeria monocytogenes transmission. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine the occurrence and potential persistence of L. monocytogenes in 19 European cheese-processing facilities. A sampling approach in 2007–2008 included, respectively, 11 and two industrial cheese producers in Austria and the Czech Republic, as well as six Irish on-farm cheese producers. From some of the producers, isolates were available from sampling before 2007. All isolates from both periods were included in a strain collection consisting of 226 L. monocytogenes isolates, which were then typed by serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). In addition, metabolic fingerprints from a subset of isolates were obtained by means of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. PFGE typing showed that six processing environments were colonized with seven persistent PFGE types of L. monocytogenes. Multilocus sequence typing undertaken on representatives of the seven persisting PFGE types grouped them into distinct clades on the basis of country and origin; however, two persistent strains from an Austrian and an Irish food processor were shown to be clonal. It was concluded that despite the fact that elaborate Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point concepts and cleaning programs are applied, persistent occurrence of L. monocytogenes can take place during cheese making. L. monocytogenes sanitation programs could be strengthened by including rapid analytical tools, such as FTIR, which allow prescreening of potentially persistent L. monocytogenes contaminants.
