Ingenta Connect
Listeria monocytogenes growth can be controlled on ready-to-eat meats through the incorporation of antimicrobial ingredients into the formulation or by postlethality kill steps. However, alternate approaches are needed to provide options that reduce sodium content but maintain protection against pathogen growth in meats after slicing. The objective of this study was to determine the inhibition of L. monocytogenes by propionic acid–based ingredients in high-moisture, cured turkey stored at 4 or 7°C. Six formulations of sliced, cured (120 ppm of NaNO2 ), deli-style turkey were tested, including control without antimicrobials, 3.2% lactate-diacetate blend (LD), 0.4% of a liquid propionate-benzoate–containing ingredient, or 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5% of a liquid propionate–containing ingredient. Products were inoculated with 5 log CFU L. monocytogenes per 100-g package (3 log CFU/ml rinsate), vacuum-sealed, and stored at 4 or 7°C for up to 12 weeks; and populations were enumerated by plating on modified Oxford agar. As expected, the control without antimicrobials supported rapid growth, with >2 log average per ml rinsate increase within 4 weeks of storage at 4°C, whereas growth was observed at 6 weeks for the LD treatment. For both replicate trials, all treatments that contained liquid propionate or propionate-benzoate limited L. monocytogenes growth to an increase of <1 log through 9 weeks storage at 4°C. Sporadic growth (>1-log increase) was observed in individual samples for all propionate-containing treatments at weeks 10, 11, and 12. As expected, L. monocytogenes grew more rapidly when products were stored at 7°C, but trends in relative inhibition were similar to those observed at 4°C. These results verify that propionate-based ingredients inhibit growth of L. monocytogenes on sliced, high-moisture, cured turkey and can be considered as an alternative to reduce sodium-based salts while maintaining food safety.
Science Direct
Staphylococcus aureus has the ability to adhere and to form biofilm on inert surface such as stainless steel commonly used in food industry. The biofilm formed on the surface of milk processing equipments could be a source of dairy products contamination. This contamination causes a food poisoning. In this paper the S. aureus adhesion on stainless steel treated by three types of milk (ultrahigh-temperature (UHT)-treated milk; UHT skimmed milk, UHT semi-skimmed milk) was investigated.
Stainless steel was exposed to three types of milk with a different amount of fat component. Contact angles measurements were used to determine the surface physicochemical properties of substratum treated with the three milk products. The hydrophobicity and electron acceptor properties of stainless steel seem to be decreasing with the amount of fat component present in milk but its electron donor property increase with this component. The ability of S. aureus to adhere to stainless steel treated and untreated with milk was also examined. Treatment with the three types of milk reduces bacterial attachment. On treated substratum, the adhesion extent was affected by the type of milk and consequently by the amount of fat component. The lower and the higher adhesion were obtained when the steel was treated by the UHT semi-skimmed milk and UHT skimmed milk respectively. The correlation between physicochemical properties and S. aureus adhesion show that this latter was controlled by hydrophobicity and electron donor properties.
The findings of this work can contribute to develop strategies for prevent S. aureus adhesion on stainless steel and biofilm formation. Also they could be taken into account in cleaning and disinfection procedures.
Ingenta Connect
Prevalence data were collected from official microbiological records monitoring four selected foodborne pathogens (Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Campylobacter jejuni) in raw milk sold by self-service vending machines in seven Italian regions (60,907 samples from 1,239 vending machines) from 2008 to 2011. Data from samples analyzed by both culture-based and real-time PCR methods were collected in one region. One hundred raw milk consumers in four regions were interviewed while purchasing raw milk from vending machines. One hundred seventy-eight of 60,907 samples were positive for one of the four foodborne pathogens investigated: 18 samples were positive for Salmonella, 83 for L. monocytogenes, 24 for E. coli O157:H7, and 53 for C. jejuni in the seven regions investigated. No significant differences in prevalence were found among regions, but a significant increase in C. jejuni prevalence was observed over the years of the study. A comparison of the two analysis methods revealed that real-time PCR was 2.71 to 9.40 times more sensitive than the culture-based method. Data on consumer habits revealed that some behaviors may enhance the risk of infection linked to raw milk consumption: 37% of consumers did not boil milk before consumption, 93% never used an insulated bag to transport raw milk home, and raw milk was consumed by children younger than 5 years of age. These results emphasize that end-product controls alone are not sufficient to guarantee an adequate level of consumer protection. The beta distribution of positive samples in this study and the data on raw milk consumer habits will be useful for the development of a national quantitative risk assessment of Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157, and C. jejuni infection associated with raw milk consumption.
