A model system for the study of microbial colonization in poultry defeathering machines

Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxin A in breaded chicken products: detection and behavior during the cooking process

In this study we examined the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) in 20 industrial breaded chicken products obtained from different retail butchers and supermarket stores in Italy. The levels of contamination in the products analyzed were quite low, although the pH values and water activities (a(w)) in the samples considered were in ranges favorable for S. aureus growth. As demonstrated by phenotypic and molecular characterization, in spite of the high percentage of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus strains, only three strains could be referred to the species S. aureus. Moreover, all the strains were negative in PCR assays targeting staphylococcal enterotoxin genes (seA to seE, seG to seJ, and seM to seO), as well as the toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 gene, and no SEA was detected in the retail breaded chicken samples analyzed by a reversed passive latex agglutination assay or by Western blotting. Hence, we evaluated the thermal resistance of two strains of SEA-producing S. aureus in a laboratory-scale preparation of precooked breaded chicken cutlets. The heat treatment employed in the manufacture determined the inactivation of S. aureus cells, but the preformed SEA remained active during product storage at 4 degrees C. The presence of the staphylococci and, in particular, of S. aureus in the retail breaded chicken products analyzed is a potential health risk for consumers since the pH and a(w) values of these kinds of products are favorable for S. aureus growth. The thermal process used during their manufacture can limit staphylococcal contamination but cannot eliminate preformed toxins.

Molecular diversity and characterization of tetracycline-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from a poultry processing plant

DNA fingerprinting and molecular characterization showed that the tetracycline-resistant Staphylococcus aureus population of a South African poultry processing plant comprised one or possibly several tet(K)-containing endemic clones that contaminated chicken and machinery surfaces at all sampled processing stages. The tet(K) gene was transferable by filter mating to S. aureus recipient 80CR5 and was located on a pT181-like plasmid.