Growth of Salmonella and competing flora in five commercial Rappaport-Vassiliadis (RV)-media

Application of BAX system, Tecra Unique Salmonella test, and a conventional culture method for the detection of Salmonella in ready-to-eat and raw foods

AIMS

To compare the BAX system, the Tecra Unique Salmonella test, and a conventional culture method for the detection of Salmonella in various foods.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Ready-to-eat and raw foods were inoculated with Salmonella serotype Typhimurium, Salmonella serotype Enteritidis, Salmonella serotype Typhi, or Salmonella serotype Derby. Incubated pre-enrichment cultures were examined using the BAX system, the Tecra Unique Salmonella test, and a conventional culture method. Salmonella could be detected in all ready-to-eat food samples inoculated with S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, or S. Derby, with any of the three test methods. However, false negatives were obtained with the Tecra test and the culture method when samples with higher background flora were inoculated with S. Typhi. Sensitivity test results suggested the two rapid tests performed as well as the culture method in the detection of 10(1) CFU of S. Typhimurium in 25-g cooked or raw food.

CONCLUSIONS

The BAX system and the Tecra Unique Salmonella test demonstrated results comparable with those of the culture method in the detection of Salmonella serotypes used except S. Typhi.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This is the first evaluation of the BAX system, the Tecra Unique Salmonella test, and a culture method in the detection of Salmonella in a variety of western and oriental foods.

Monitoring of the dissemination of Salmonella in the chicken Frankfurt-sausage production line of a sausage factory in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Poultry meat and its derivatives are among the foodstuffs considered by environmental health authorities to present the highest risks to the public. A total of 185 samples were collected in five monthly batches, from different processing stages in a sausage plant that uses mechanically-deboned chicken meat (MDCM), and tested for the presence of Salmonella. Enrichment was carried out in both Kauffman's tetrathionate broth and Rappaport-Vassiliadis broth and isolation on Salmonella-Shigella agar and brilliant-green agar. Live Salmonella bacteria were isolated from six samples of the raw meat and from the emulsion, in batches three, four, and five, but not from any sample in batches one or two. The six isolated strains were all classified as Salmonella Albany, which has not previously been reported in MDCM. Of the two enrichment broths, Rappaport-Vassiliadis gave the better results. The pattern of contamination suggests a probable common source, given that a new supplier was used in the third, fourth, and fifth months. It was also shown that the industrial cooking was effective in preventing Salmonella surviving in the final product.

Probability of detection of Salmonella using different analytical procedures, with emphasis on subspecies diarizonae serovar 61:k:1,5,(7) [S. IIIb 61:k:1,5,(7)]

A parameter for assessing qualitative methods is suggested: 'The probability of detection' has been used in this study to compare the efficiency of commonly used media for detecting Salmonella in mutton and faeces. Mutton and ovine faeces spiked with strains of Salmonella IIIb 61:k: 1,5,(7) and Salmonella Typhimurium were analysed and the performance of each combination of media was estimated. Extensive variation between serovars and strains of identical serovars were recorded. In meat, an inoculum of up to 10(6)/g was needed to detect salmonellae with 90% probability, while in faeces even 10(7)/g was not enough for some strains of S. IIIb 61:k:1,5,(7). All method combinations thus had a rather low efficiency. Based on our experiments, we recommend using a combination of the XLD medium and any of the three selective broths for detection of S. IIIb 61:k:1,5,(7) from mutton, while we recommend using the SC broth with any of the three plating media for detection from ovine faeces.

Update on media for isolation of Enterobacteriaceae from foods

Testing for 'total' Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms and Escherichia coli as marker organisms in foods and detection of specific pathogens of the family Enterobacteriaceae, including pathogenic E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella and Yersinia spp. is widely applied in many food control laboratories. This review describes some recent developments in culture media for these organisms. Methods for enumeration of E. coli include the standard MPN technique, a membrane-filter method and the use of media containing chromogenic and fluorogenic indicators for beta-D-glucuronidase (GUD) activity. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157 strains usually do not ferment sorbitol and are GUD-negative. These characteristics are used in selective media for these organisms, such as cefixime tellurite sorbitol MacConkey agar. For the detection of salmonellae, motility enrichment in Modified Semisolid Rappaport-Vassiliadis (MSRV) medium shows equal or better results than the use of standard Rappaport-Vassiliadis broth. Addition of nitrofurantoin to diagnostic semisolid salmonella agar and to xylose lysine desoxycholate agar favours the isolation of S. enteritidis. Recently developed salmonella media use different selective and diagnostic properties, such as acid formation from propylene glycol, glucuronate fermentation, fermentation of glycerol and addition of Tergitol 4 as selective agent. The isolation of Shigella spp. from foods is rather difficult and further evaluation of suggested isolation systems and the development of more effective methods for the isolation of this pathogen are needed. Yersinia enterocolitica includes both pathogenic and nonpathogenic biotypes and serogroups. As no single procedure will recover all pathogenic strains of Y. enterocolitica, the use of two isolation procedures in parallel is recommended.

Comparison between a cultural procedure using Rappaport-Vassiliadis broth and motility enrichments on modified semisolid Rappaport-Vassiliadis medium for Salmonella detection from food and feed

Motility enrichment on modified semisolid Rappaport-Vassiliadis (MSRV) medium was evaluated for a rapid Salmonella detection in naturally contaminated food- and feed samples. The results of this procedure were compared with a conventional cultural procedure using Rappaport-Vassiliadis (RV) broth as selective enrichment and modified brilliant green-, xylose lysine desoxycholate- and mannitol lysine crystal violet brilliant green agar for selective plating. The productivity of motility enrichment was 87% compared to a productivity of 99% for the cultural procedure. Statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference at the 5% level. The present study shows that a combination of direct motility enrichment with the cultural procedure could be used as a very rapid and highly cost-efficient method for Salmonella detection.

A comparison of immunomagnetic separation plus enrichment with conventional Salmonella culture in the examination of raw sausages

Immunomagnetic separation with additional enrichment was used in conjunction with improved selective media to improve the isolation of salmonellae from raw sausages. The isolation rate achieved was almost double that of conventional culture with no increase in processing time. The selective media gave an overall specificity of approximately 74%; all false-positive pickoffs being identified as Citrobacter freundii. It is believed that this method represents a significant advance in the isolation of salmonellae from foods, although the ideal media both for enrichment and selection have yet to be found.

Salmonellae and food safety

Salmonella is one of the most important foodborne pathogens around the world. The knowledge that very low numbers of Salmonella cells can be infectious emphasizes the need for stringent food safety measures Traditional methods for isolating and identifying Salmonella in food rely on preenrichment, selective enrichment in selective and differential media, biochemical tests, and serological confirmation. Recent advances in diagnostic technology have considerably altered testing methods for foodborne Salmonella. Many commercial assay systems and kits that use newer technologies are available to facilitate the identification of Salmonella in foods. These systems include miniaturized biochemical tests, new media formulations, automated instrumentation, DNA/RNA probes, antibody-dependent assays, and polymerase chain reaction. The technologies used for these systems are described, and the various kit formats are compared. Among the limitations of detection methods in terms of food safety are timeliness, limits of detection, and differentiation of virulent and nonvirulent isolates. Current efforts of prevention measures and strategies at different links of the food chain such as consumer education and hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) programs are reviewed, Global approaches to food safety are needed..