A sampling regime based on an ATP bioluminescence assay to assess the quality of poultry carcasses at critical control points during processing

The meat industry is in need of faster and more reliable methods to determine microbial loads in food products. A rapid method (<15 min) has been developed to assess the microbiological quality of chicken carcasses using the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence assay. The results indicate that, following modifications, the ATP bioluminescence test produced an acceptable correlation with plate counts (r = 0.85, p < 0.001) and demonstrated good repeatability between replicates. It is envisaged that the modified ATP bioluminescence assay would best be used as a platform rejection test. Using threshold levels determined from the regression equation, the ATP bioluminescence assays gave about 90% agreement with plate counts for carcass rinses with counts above 5 × 104 CFU/ml. These findings suggest that the modified ATP bioluminescence assay could be used for monitoring critical control points (CCPs) in programs based on hazard analysis of critical control points (HACCP).

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Use of a Rapid Microbial ATP Bioluminescence Assay to Detect Contamination on Beef and Pork Carcasses†

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x-58.7.770 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 58 (7) ◽

pp. 770-775 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

GREGORY R. SIRAGUSA ◽

CATHERINE N. CUTTER ◽

WARREN J. DORSA ◽

MOHAMMAD KOOHMARAIE

Keyword(s):

Plate Count ◽

Assay Sensitivity ◽

Standard Plate Count ◽

Critical Control Points ◽

Processing Plants ◽

Atp Bioluminescence ◽

Bioluminescence Assay ◽

Commercial Processing ◽

Atp Bioluminescence Assay

A new microbial ATP bioluminescence assay was shown to be an accurate and rapid method to determine the levels of generic bacterial contamination on beef (n = 400 and pork (n = 320) carcasses sampled in commercial processing plants. Based on in vitro fecal dilution studies, the rapid microbial ATP (R-mATP) assay is as accurate as the standard plate count method for estimating bacteria in bovine or porcine fecal samples. The correlations (r) between the R-mATP assay and the standard aerobic plate count for beef and pork carcasses sampled in commercial processing were 0.91 and 0.93, respectively. A segmented-model statistical approach to determine the lower limits of assay sensitivity was developed. By using this model to analyze the in-plant data, the R-mATP test responded in a linear fashion to levels of microbial contamination of > log10 2.0 aerobic CFU/cm2 on beef carcasses and of > log10 3.2 aerobic CFU/cm2 for pork carcasses. The R-mATP assay requires approximately 5 min to complete, including sampling. Given the rapidity and accuracy of the assay, processors interested in monitoring critical control points in the slaughter process could potentially use the R-mATP assay to monitor microbiological prevention and intervention procedures for minimizing carcass contamination.

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Rapid Assessment of the Bacteriological Quality of Raw Milk Using ATP Bioluminescence†

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x-64.2.208 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 64 (2) ◽

pp. 208-212 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

PUSHPA J. SAMKUTTY ◽

RONALD H. GOUGH ◽

R. W. ADKINSON ◽

PAULA MCGREW

Keyword(s):

Linear Regression ◽

Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Raw Milk ◽

Bacteriological Quality ◽

Atp Bioluminescence ◽

Standard Plate ◽

Bioluminescence Assay ◽

Atp Bioluminescence Assay

Research was conducted to assess the practical use of an ATP bioluminescence assay to evaluate the bacteriological quality of raw milk. Filtration was used to precondition samples before ATP determination, which was measured in relative light units (RLUs). The Lumac ATP bioluminescence assay results were compared with standard plate counts (SPCs) of samples to estimate the microbial load for 246 raw milk samples that were split and either tested immediately or subjected to two preliminary incubation temperatures, 12.8 and 15.6°C, for 18 h. Linear regression analysis procedures were used to analyze the data. Preincubation treatments were analyzed separately. For all treatments, linear regression coefficients were significantly different from zero (P < 0.01). The R2 values calculated using log10-transformed SPC and log10-transformed RLUs for samples tested immediately and samples preliminarily incubated at 12.8 and 15.6°C were 0.58, 0.78, and 0.80, respectively. The R2 for all samples combined was 0.78. Differences in regressions among treatments were tested using a multiple slope and intercept model. Treatment intercepts and slopes were significantly different (P < 0.01). A linear regression equation was used to predict SPC from ATP values. Comparison of predicted values with actual SPCs indicated that ATP could be useful in predicting SPC in raw milk.

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Microbial ATP Bioluminescence as a Means to Detect Contamination on Artificially Contaminated Beef Carcass Tissue†

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x-58.7.764 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 58 (7) ◽

pp. 764-769 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

GREGORY R. SIRAGUSA ◽

CATHERINE N. CUTTER

Keyword(s):

Regression Line ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Viable Count ◽

Processing Plant ◽

Critical Control Points ◽

Assay Procedure ◽

Atp Bioluminescence ◽

Bioluminescence Assay ◽

Atp Bioluminescence Assay ◽

Bovine Feces

The use of microbial ATP bioluminescence was evaluated as a means to rapidly detect gross microbial contamination from feces on bovine-carcass surface tissue (BCT). Microbial ATP was selectively distinguished from nonmicrobial ATP by the assay procedure used. Regression analyses of microbial ATP and viable count scatterplots showed lean and adipose BCT artificially contaminated with bovine feces had the same regression line parameters (P < 0.05), and therefore, the microbial ATP responses were similar for both tissue types. Correlation coefficients (r) of these regression lines were >0.90 for both tissue types. Results indicated that swab samples can be held at 5°C for up to 6 h without compromising microbial ATP bioluminescence assay results. The microbial ATP bioluminescence assay shows potential for use as a means to rapidly detect fecal contamination on red meat carcasses and to gauge decontamination effectiveness and hence could monitor critical control points in a processing-plant HACCP plan.

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