Foodborne pathogenic bacteria in prepackaged fresh retail portions of farmed rainbow trout and salmon stored at 3 degrees C

The Significance of Mesophilic Aeromonas spp. in Minimally Processed Ready-to-Eat Seafood

Minimally processed and ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood products are gaining popularity because of their availability in retail stores and the consumers' perception of convenience. Products that are subjected to mild processing and products that do not require additional heating prior to consumption are eaten by an increasing proportion of the population, including people that are more susceptible to foodborne disease. Worldwide, seafood is an important source of foodborne outbreaks, but the exact burden is not known. The increased interest in seafood products for raw consumption introduces new food safety issues that must be addressed by all actors in the food chain. Bacteria belonging to genus Aeromonas are ubiquitous in marine environments, and Aeromonas spp. has held the title "emerging foodborne pathogen" for more than a decade. Given its high prevalence in seafood and in vegetables included in many RTE seafood meals, the significance of Aeromonas as a potential foodborne pathogen and a food spoilage organism increases. Some Aeromonas spp. can grow relatively uninhibited in food during refrigeration under a broad range of pH and NaCl concentrations, and in various packaging atmospheres. Strains of several Aeromonas species have shown spoilage potential by the production of spoilage associated metabolites in various seafood products, but the knowledge on spoilage in cold water fish species is scarce. The question about the significance of Aeromonas spp. in RTE seafood products is challenged by the limited knowledge on how to identify the truly virulent strains. The limited information on clinically relevant strains is partly due to few registered outbreaks, and to the disputed role as a true foodborne pathogen. However, it is likely that illness caused by Aeromonas might go on undetected due to unreported cases and a lack of adequate identification schemes. A rather confusing taxonomy and inadequate biochemical tests for species identification has led to a biased focus towards some Aeromonas species. Over the last ten years, several housekeeping genes has replaced the 16S rRNA gene as suitable genetic markers for phylogenetic analysis. The result is a more clear and robust taxonomy and updated knowledge on the currently circulating environmental strains. Nevertheless, more knowledge on which factors that contribute to virulence and how to control the potential pathogenic strains of Aeromonas in perishable RTE seafood products are needed.

Biogenic amines formation, nucleotide degradation and TVB-N accumulation of vacuum-packed minced sturgeon (Acipenser schrencki) stored at 4 °C and their relation to microbiological attributes

BACKGROUND

Sturgeon (Acipenser schrencki) were filleted, minced, vacuum-packed and stored at 4 °C. Minced sturgeon muscles were analysed for 10 days to determine biochemical [eight biogenic amines, ATP and breakdown products, K value, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and pH], microbiological (total viable counts, Enterobacteriaceae, Psychrotrophs, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Vibrio, Lactobacillus and Brochothrix thermosphacta) changes and their relationships.

RESULTS

The shelf-life of sturgeon was found to be 3-4 days according to microbiological assessment. At the end of the storage, Psychrotrophs, Enterobacteriaceae and Aeromonas became the dominant bacteria, reaching 7.85, 7.98 and 8.02 log cfu g(-1), respectively. Biogenic amines, hypoxanthine and the K value increased significantly (P < 0.05) during the storage. Putrescine and cadaverine was the dominant biogenic amines while tryptamine was not detected during the storage. In addition, putrescine, cadaverine and hypoxanthine were highly related to storage time and total viable counts (r(2), 0.876-0.962), indicating that they can be good biomarkers for quality assessment of vacuum-packed minced sturgeon stored at 4 °C.

CONCLUSION

In this study, key biochemical and microbiological attributes were established to monitor the spoilage and shelf life of vacuum-packed sturgeon. These results could help to establish better cold storage management of minced sturgeon products under commercial conditions.

Interaction of Aeromonas strains with lactic acid bacteria via Caco-2 cells

The genus Aeromonas includes some species that have now been identified as human pathogens of significant medical importance. We investigated the ability of 13 selected Aeromonas strains belonging to nine species isolated from clinical cases (n = 5), environmental waters (n = 5), and fish (n = 3) to adhere to and translocate Caco-2 cells in the absence and presence of two lactic acid bacteria (LAB), i.e., Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium breve. Aeromonas isolates were also assessed for their cytotoxicity, the presence of virulence genes, and hemolysin production. Among the clinical isolates, one strain of Aeromonas veronii biovar veronii and two strains of Aeromonas hydrophila carried cytotoxin (act), heat-labile toxin (alt), hemolysin (hlyA), and aerolysin (aerA) genes, were cytotoxic to Vero cells, produced hemolysin, and showed higher adherence to Caco-2 cells. In contrast, this was seen in only one environmental strain, a strain of A. veronii biovar sobria. When Aeromonas strains were coinoculated with LAB onto Caco-2 cells, their level of adhesion was reduced. However, their rate of translocation in the presence of LAB increased and was significantly (P < 0.05) higher among fish strains. We suggest that either the interaction between Aeromonas and LAB strains could have a detrimental effect on the Caco-2 cells, allowing the Aeromonas to translocate more readily, or the presence of the LAB stimulated the Aeromonas strains to produce more toxins and/or increase their translocation rate.

Occurrence of motile Aeromonas in municipal drinking water and distribution of genes encoding virulence factors

Aeromonas-associated cases of gastroenteritis are generally considered waterborne. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential microbiological risk associated with the presence of these bacteria in public drinking water. Over a period of one year, 132 drinking-water samples were monitored in León (NW of Spain, 137,000 inhabitants) for mandatory drinking-water standards and the occurrence of Aeromonas spp. Samples were taken at the municipal water treatment plant, one storage facility, and two public artesian drinking-water fountains. Because of low numbers of coliforms or Clostridium perfringens, the non-compliance rate with microbial standards was 3.8% whereas the percentage of positive samples for motile mesophilic Aeromonas was 26.5%. For all but two samples, Aeromonas was recovered between October and early March when the temperature was below 14 degrees C and the residual chlorine ranged from 0.21 to 0.72 mg/l. An apparent relationship was observed between rainfall and the incidence of Aeromonas. The 35 selected Aeromonas isolates were identified as A. caviae and A. media. The alt and laf genes were present in all isolates, the aerA gene was present in six isolates, and the four remaining genes investigated (hlyA, ast, stx1 and stx2) were absent. The combinations of putative virulence genes were: aerA(-)/hlyA(-)/alt(+)/ast(-)/laf(+)/stx1(-)/stx2(-) (82.9%) and aerA(+)/hlyA(-)/alt(+)/ast(-)/laf(+)/stx1(-)/stx2(-) (17.1%). None of the isolates bore plasmids. As Aeromonas strains harbouring two or more virulence-associated genes have the potential to cause disease by direct transmission via drinking water or by water use in food preparation, it would be advisable to control excessive numbers of these bacteria in drinking-water supplies.

Effect of temperature on the spoilage rate of whole, unprocessed crabs: Carcinus maenas, Necora puber and Cancer pagurus

Shelf life of whole, initially live, crabs depended primarily on the storage conditions and the time at which death occurred. Large differences in the time that individual crab species survived particular storage conditions resulted in wide variations in shelf-life. Bacterial spoilage of Carcinus maenas, Necora puber and Cancer pagurus, measured using aerobic plate counts, indicated that on ice at 4 degrees C whole unprocessed crabs had a shelf life approximately 9-11 days, at 4 degrees C approximately 13-29 days, in simulated supermarket conditions of sale approximately 5-7 days and at 20 degrees C approximately 2-16 days. Storage of whole unprocessed crabs chilled at 4 degrees C considerably extended shelf life compared to crabs stored on ice. Live crabs stored on ice died within 24h, most likely due to thermal shock and their early death was responsible for their more rapid increase in bacterial numbers compared to crabs stored at 4 degrees C. No growth of bacteria occurred in the flesh of live crabs stored at 4 degrees C for between 128 and 504 h. Crab flesh quality deteriorated prior to maximum shelf-life (defined as the time at which bacterial load reached log 5 cfu/g crabmeat) in some instances. The best compromise between high crabmeat yield and long shelf-life is likely to be to transport crabs at 4 degrees C live to market where they could be stored live at 4 degrees C without spoilage for 2 weeks before placed on ice at 4 degrees C, with a potential maximum shelf life of approximately 24 days.

Occurrence of foodborne pathogenic bacteria in retail prepackaged portions of marine fish in Spain

AIMS

To survey the presence of indigenous and nonindigenous foodborne bacterial pathogens in displayed prepacked portions of fresh marine fish.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A survey of 50 different samples of fresh marine fish (conger, swordfish, sole, grouper and whiting) was conducted over a period of 5 months. Trays of fillets and steaks were obtained at retail level and tested for foodborne bacterial pathogens. Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella were not detected. Two samples (4%) yielded Vibrio strains carrying a DNA fragment specific for Vibrio parahaemolyticus, but resulted negative to PCR amplification of the virulence-related tdh gene. Levels of motile Aeromonas ranging from 2.29 to 7.20 log CFU g(-1) were found in 31 (62%) samples. All fish portions were positive for the Aeromonas hlyA gene and 38 for both aerA and hlyA genes, which may contribute to diarrhoea-related virulence. The incidence of Listeria monocytogenes was 10%. Levels of Staphylococcus aureus lower than 2 log CFU g(-1) were found in 15 (30%) samples. Numbers of presumptive Clostridium perfringens ranging from 1.82 +/- 0.22 to 4.26 +/- 1.25 log CFU g(-1) were detected in 42 (84%) samples. Edwardsiella tarda was detected in two samples of grouper fillets.

CONCLUSIONS

Displayed portions of raw fish carried bacteria that can cause foodborne disease. The risk posed by fresh fish when properly cooked is low, but high when destined to be consumed raw, undercooked or very lightly processed.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study revealed that raw fish sold in Spain could be a source of foodborne bacterial pathogens. Improvements in handling and processing are needed to minimize the prevalence of pathogenic bacteria.

Hemolytic and proteolytic activities of Aeromonas hydrophila and Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria in broth and salmon extract at different temperatures

Expression of hemolytic and proteolytic activities throughout the growth cycle was investigated with two enterotoxic aeromonad strains assigned to the species Aeromonas hydrophila and Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria. Although growth kinetic data were dependent on strain, temperature, and substrate, maximum populations attained were higher than 9 log CFU/ml in aerated tryptone soya broth plus yeast extract (TSBYE) and salmon extract within the range 4 to 28 degrees C. For both strains in TSBYE, variable amounts of hemolytic activity were first detected at any temperature when aeromonad counts were over 9 log CFU/ml. Afterwards, this activity increased up to similar levels (109 to 112 hemolytic units per ml) without a significant increase in populations. Salmon extract supported hemolysin synthesis at 28 but not 4 degrees C. Proteolytic activity of the A. hydrophila strain was only expressed in salmon extract at 28 degrees C, whereas A. veronii biovar sobria did at 28 degrees C in both substrates and at 10 degrees C in TSBYE.