scholarly journals Evaluation of a Chromogenic Medium for Identification and Differentiation of Listeria monocytogenes in Selected Foods

2005 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 511-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy F Lauer ◽  
Jean-Pierre Facon ◽  
Asmita Patel

Abstract Listeria monocytogenes continues to be a threat to food safety in the United States despite a “zero tolerance” policy. When Listeria species are identified by standard cultural methods, confirmation of L. monocytogenes takes days to complete. RAPID'L.Mono™ agar, developed by Bio-Rad Laboratories, is a chromogenic medium that differentiates L. monocytogenes from other species of Listeria by a simple color change reaction. Differentiation is based on the specific detection of phosphatidylinositol phospholipase C activity, resulting in a blue colony, and the inability of L. monocytogenes to metabolize xylose, resulting in the absence of a yellow halo. Detection principles of standard method agars, Oxford and PALCAM, are based on the ability of all species of Listeria to hydrolyze esculin. Thus, all species of Listeria have similar colony morphology on these agars, making differentiation of pathogenic L. monocytogenes from other nonhuman pathogens difficult. RAPID'L.Mono agar has been validated with surimi, mixed salad, brie, and processed deli turkey because of the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in these foods. Sensitivity and specificity for this medium was determined to be 99.4 and 100%, respectively. Overall method agreement of RAPID'L.Mono with standard culture methods (U.S. Department of Agriculture/Food Safety and Inspection Service; U.S. Food and Drug Administration/Bacteriological Analytical Manual; and AOAC INTERNATIONAL) was excellent, with enrichment protocols 24 h shorter than those of standard methods.

2004 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 1123-1132
Author(s):  
Karen M Silbernagel ◽  
Charles N Carver ◽  
Robert P Jechorek ◽  
Ronald L Johnson ◽  
W Alejo ◽  
...  

Abstract A multilaboratory study was conducted to compare the VIDAS®Listeria monocytogenes II (LMO2) immunoassay and the standard cultural methods for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in foods. Five food types—vanilla ice cream, brie cheese, cooked roast beef, frozen green beans, and frozen tilapia fish—at 3 levels were analyzed by each method. A total of 26 laboratories representing government and industry participated. In this study, 1404 test portions were analyzed of which 1152 were used in the statistical analysis. There were 448 positive by the VIDAS LMO2 assay and 457 positive by the standard culture methods. A χ2 analysis of each of the 5 food types, at the 3 inoculation levels tested, was performed. The resulting χ2 value, 0.36, indicates that overall, there are no statistical differences between the VIDAS LMO2 assay and the standard methods at the 5% level of significance.


2010 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 861-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
TODD J. WARD ◽  
PETER EVANS ◽  
MARTIN WIEDMANN ◽  
THOMAS USGAARD ◽  
SHERRY E. ROOF ◽  
...  

A panel of 501 Listeria monocytogenes isolates obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service monitoring programs for ready-to-eat (RTE) foods were subtyped by multilocus genotyping (MLGT) and by sequencing the virulence gene inlA, which codes for internalin. MLGT analyses confirmed that clonal lineages associated with previous epidemic outbreaks were rare (7.6%) contaminants of RTE meat and poultry products and their production environments. Conversely, sequence analyses revealed mutations leading to 11 different premature stop codons (PMSCs) in inlA, including three novel PMSC mutations, and revealed that the frequency of these virulence-attenuating mutations among RTE isolates (48.5%) was substantially higher than previously appreciated. Significant differences (P < 0.001) in the frequency of inlA PMSCs were observed between lineages and between major serogroups, which could partially explain differences in association of these subtypes with human listeriosis. Interrogation of single-nucleotide polymorphisms responsible for PMSCs in inlA improved strain resolution among isolates with the 10 most common pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns, 8 of which included isolates with a PMSC in inlA. The presence or absence of PMSCs in inlA accounted for significant differences (P < 0.05) in Caco-2 invasion efficiencies among isolates with identical PFGE patterns, and the proportion of PulseNet entries from clinical sources was significantly higher (P < 0.001) for PFGE patterns exclusively from isolates with full-length inlA. These results indicated that integration of PFGE and DNA sequence–based subtyping provides an improved framework for prediction of relative risk associated with L. monocytogenes strains from RTE foods.


1997 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
PARMESH K. SAINI ◽  
DONALD W. WEBERT ◽  
PATRICK C. McCASKEY

Using slaughter disposition data maintained by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prevalence of cattle cysticercosis (Cysticercus bovis) for a l0-year period from 1985 through 1994 is reported. Out of an annual average of approximately 33 million slaughtered cattle, about 6,200 carcasses were identified with cysticercus lesions. In the five FSIS inspection regions in the United States, namely Western, Southwestern, Northeastern, Southeastern, and North Central, an average cattle cysticercosis prevalence of 0.0697, 0.0085,0.0012,0.0004, and 0.0003, respectively, is reported. The relevance of serological testing in lieu of, or as a supplement to, the current labor-intensive physical detection procedure in cattle is discussed, the latter being reported to miss close to one-third of the carcasses harboring cysticercus lesions. Out of a total of approximately 80 million swine slaughtered annually in the United States, the number of carcasses identified with cysticercus lesions (Cysticercus cellulosae) is extremely low, ranging from 1 through 44 during each of the 10 years. Swine cysticercosis (unlike cattle cysticercosis), with man being an alternate intermediate host, poses serious public health concerns with sometimes fatal consequences manifested through neurocysticercosis (Cysticercus cellulosae). Though human cysticercosis is still rare in the United States, recent reports have indicated an upturn in diagnosed cases. These are primarily the result of an increasing number of immigrants and international travel to and from endemic areas.


Foods ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar Chambers ◽  
Sandria Godwin ◽  
Taylor Terry

Research has shown that consumers use unsafe food handling practices when preparing poultry, which can increase the risk of foodborne illness such as salmonellosis or campylobacteriosis. Recipes from cookbooks, magazines, and the internet commonly are used as sources for consumers to prepare food in homes and the expectation is that food will be safe when prepared. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), using a thermometer properly is the only way to accurately check for doneness of poultry. The objective of this study was to assess poultry recipes, including recipes for whole birds and poultry parts, to determine if food safety information concerning thermometer use was included within the recipe. Poultry recipes (n = 474) were collected from 217 cookbooks, 28 magazines, 59 websites, and seven blogs. Approximately 33.5% of the recipes contained a specific temperature for doneness, with 73% of those cooked to ≥165 °F/74 °C, as recommended by USDA. Ninety-four percent of recipes used cooking time and about half of the recipes used visual measurements, such as color or juices running clear, to determine doneness. This study showed that most recipes do not contain appropriate information to assure safe cooking of poultry by consumers. Modifying recipes by adding food safety information, such as thermometer use and proper temperatures, could increase the use of proper food preparation behaviors by consumers.


Food Control ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 107083
Author(s):  
Hans D. Allender ◽  
Stephanie Buchanan ◽  
Naser Abdelmajid ◽  
Ilene Arnold ◽  
Jeanetta Tankson ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 552-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. STOPFORTH ◽  
D. VISSER ◽  
R. ZUMBRINK ◽  
L. van DIJK ◽  
E. W. BONTENBAL

Ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products have been identified as a significant source of listeriosis in humans in the United States. Meat processors in the United States are required to use one of three alternatives to control L. monocytogenes in RTE meats: (i) a postlethality inactivation treatment along with a L. monocytogenes growth inhibitor; (ii) a postlethality inactivation treatment or a growth inhibitor; or (iii) sanitation measures and intensive testing. Lauric arginate (LAE) has been proposed as an effective postlethality inactivation treatment. The present study was conducted to investigate the antimicrobial effect of a lactate-diacetate blend in the formulation combined with surface application of LAE on cooked cured ham inoculated with L. monocytogenes, vacuum packaged, and stored at 4°C for up to 90 days. The treatments evaluated were (i) control ham with no added antimicrobials (control); (ii) ham formulated with 1.68% potassium lactate and 0.12% sodium diacetate (PLSD); (iii) control ham with 0.07% LAE as a surface treatment (LAE); and (iv) ham formulated with PLSD and LAE surface treatment (sprayed in bag and distributed across meat surface during vacuum packing) (PLSD+LAE). Use of only LAE as a surface treatment resulted in an initial 1-log CFU/g reduction in levels of L. monocytogenes on ham; however, this reduction only delayed the growth of the pathogen to 8 log CFU/g by 12 days when compared with the control ham without added antimicrobials. Use of PLSD in the formulation of ham resulted in a complete inhibition of L. monocytogenes throughout storage. The combination of PLSD in the formulation and a surface treatment with LAE resulted in an initial 0.7-log CFU/g reduction of the pathogen on ham and complete inhibition of the pathogen at the reduced level throughout storage. Formulation of ham with a lactate-diacetate blend combined with lauric arginate as a surface treatment will allow RTE meat processors to effectively achieve alternative 1 status, as designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, in their facilities.


2009 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 1105-1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki Ritter ◽  
Susan Kircher ◽  
Krista Sturm ◽  
Patty Warns ◽  
Nancy Dick

Abstract BBL CHROMagar Listeria Media (CL) was evaluated for detection of Listeria monocytogenes in raw ground beef, smoked salmon, lettuce, and Brie cheese. The recovery of L. monocytogenes on CL was compared to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), AOAC, and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) reference-plated media using the recommended pre-enrichments and selective enrichments. Of the 265 food samples tested, 140 were tested using BAM, USDA, or AOAC methods and 125 were tested using ISO methods. CL produced comparable results with the reference methods on all matrixes with a sensitivity of 99.3 and a specificity of 100. No false negatives were found in testing the food matrixes. There was no statistical difference in recovery based on Chi-square analysis. Known isolates were evaluated, and CL had a sensitivity and specificity of 100. The results of this study demonstrate that CL is an effective medium for the recovery and detection of L. monocytogenes in raw ground beef, smoked salmon, lettuce, and Brie cheese using FDA BAM, USDA FSIS, AOAC, and ISO culture methods.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-46
Author(s):  
Shari R. Veil

To lessen the threat of an intentional or naturally occurring livestock disease, the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture introduced the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), encouraging the use of innovative tools such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to track cattle across the country. In this study, the author examines the barriers to adoption of NAIS and RFID technology as risk-reduction tools. Diffusion of innovation literature is used to analyze a case study of a state livestock association advocating the rejection of NAIS and RFID technology. Implications for the diffusion of risk reduction tools are provided.


1990 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 838-841
Author(s):  
James D Macneil ◽  
John R Patterson ◽  
Adrian C Fesser ◽  
Valerie K Martz

Abstract Analytical methods for pentachlorophenol (PCP) residues In edible animal tissue have been reviewed, with particular reference to gas chromatographic methods of analysis. Results of analyses demonstrate that significant residues of PCP can persist for several weeks In animals exposed to contaminated bedding. National surveys In Canada have found that the incidence of PCP residues In pork in excess of 0.1 ppm was reduced from 32% of survey samples In 1981- 1982 to 6.6% of samples tested In 1987-1988. An Interlaboratory sample exchange among Canadian laboratories demonstrated that the PCP analytical method currently used by Agriculture Canada could be successfully transferred to other laboratories. An exchange of samples between regulatory laboratories of Agriculture Canada and the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) demonstrated equivalency of results for the 2 methods currently used in the respective laboratories, with relative standard deviations for analytical results ranging from 4.4 to 22.2%.


2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman L. Dart ◽  
Gary A. Chastagner

The number and retail value of plants destroyed in Washington State nurseries due to Phytophthora ramorum quarantine efforts was estimated using Emergency Action Notification forms (EANs) issued by the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service between 2004 and 2005. Data collected from EANs indicate that during this period 17,266 containerized nursery plants were destroyed at 32 nurseries, worth an estimated $423,043. The mean loss per nursery was estimated at $11,188 in 2004, $11,798 in 2005, and at $13,220 per nursery over the 2-year period. Accepted for publication 26 January 2007. Published 8 May 2007.


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