scholarly journals Elimination of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Alfalfa Seeds through a Combination of High Hydrostatic Pressure and Mild Heat

2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 1901-1907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hudaa Neetoo ◽  
Thompson Pizzolato ◽  
Haiqiang Chen

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been associated with contaminated seed sprout outbreaks. The majority of these outbreaks have been traced to sprout seeds contaminated with low levels of pathogens. Sanitizing sprout seeds presents a unique challenge in the arena of produce safety in that even a low residual pathogen population remaining on contaminated seed after treatments appears capable of growing to very high levels during sprouting. In this study, the effectiveness of high-pressure treatment in combination with low and elevated temperatures was assessed for its ability to eliminate E. coli O157:H7 on artificially contaminated alfalfa seeds. Inoculated seed samples were treated at 600 MPa for 2 min at 4, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50°C. The pressure sensitivity of the pathogenic bacteria was strongly dependent on the treatment temperature. At 40°C, the process was adequate in eliminating a 5-log-unit population on the seeds with no adverse effect on seed viability. Three treatments carried out at reduced pressure levels and/or extended treatment time, 550 MPa for 2 min at 40°C, 300 MPa for 2 min at 50°C, and 400 MPa for 5 min at 45°C, were equally lethal to the pathogen. When all three treatments were compared in terms of their impact on seed viability, the process of 550 MPa for 2 min at 40°C was the most desirable, achieving final germination percentages and sprout sizes statistically similar to those of control untreated seeds (P > 0.05).

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 1002-1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akhila Vasan ◽  
Steven C. Ingham ◽  
Barbara H. Ingham

ABSTRACT Thermal tolerance of pathogenic bacteria has been shown to increase after exposure to sublethal elevated temperatures, or heat shock. We evaluated the effect of heat shock at 48°C on thermal tolerance (D55°C) of cocktails of O157 and non-O157 Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella in lean ground beef with or without moisture-enhancing ingredients. Beef was moisture enhanced to 110% (w) with a 5% NaCl–2.5% sodium tripolyphosphate (w/w) brine. Meat, with or without added brine, was inoculated (∼108 CFU/g) and heat shocked at 48°C for 0, 5, or 30 min, followed by isothermal heating at 55°C. Inoculated control samples were unenhanced and were not subject to heat shock. From the linear portion of the log CFU per gram surviving cells over time plots, D55°C-values (minutes) were calculated. D55°C was 20.43, 28.78, and 21.15 min for O157, non-O157, and Salmonella controls, respectively. Overall, heat shock significantly increased D55°C, regardless of pathogen (P < 0.05). After 30 min of heat shock, D55°C increased 89 and 160% for O157 STEC, 32 and 49% for non-O157 STEC, and 29 and 57% for Salmonella, in unenhanced and enhanced samples, respectively, relative to the pathogen control. D55°C for Salmonella was the same or significantly less than for O157 and non-O157 STEC, regardless of heat shock, and was significantly less than for O157 and non-O157 STEC in all trials with moisture-enhanced meat (P < 0.05). Moisture-enhancing ingredients significantly increased D55°C, regardless of pathogen (P < 0.05). We suggest that thermal processes validated against Salmonella may not prove effective against STEC in all cases and that regulators of the beef industry should focus attention on STEC in nonintact moisture-enhanced beef products.


2001 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 1489-1495 ◽  
Author(s):  
SARAH L. HOLLIDAY ◽  
ALAN J. SCOUTEN ◽  
LARRY R. BEUCHAT

Alfalfa seeds are sometimes subjected to a scarification treatment to enhance water uptake, which results in more rapid and uniform germination during sprout production. It has been hypothesized that this mechanical abrasion treatment diminishes the efficacy of chemical treatments used to kill or remove pathogenic bacteria from seeds. A study was done to compare the effectiveness of chlorine (20,000 ppm), H2O2 (8%), Ca(OH)2 (1%), Ca(OH)2 (1%) plus Tween 80 (1%), and Ca(OH)2 (1%) plus Span 20 (1%) treatments in killing Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated onto control, scarified, and polished alfalfa seeds obtained from two suppliers. The influence of the presence of organic material in the inoculum carrier on the efficacy of sanitizers was investigated. Overall, treatment with 1% Ca(OH)2 was the most effective in reducing populations of the pathogens. Reduction in populations of pathogens on seeds obtained from supplier 1 indicate that chemical treatments are less efficacious in eliminating the pathogens on scarified seeds compared to control seeds. However, the effectiveness of chemical treatment in removing Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 from seeds obtained from supplier 2 was not markedly affected by scarification or polishing. The presence of organic material in the inoculum carrier did not have a marked influence on the efficacy of chemicals in reducing populations of test pathogens. Additional lots of control, scarified, and polished alfalfa seeds of additional varieties need to be tested before conclusions can be drawn concerning the impact of mechanical abrasion on the efficacy of chemical treatment in removing or killing Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Bao Hung ◽  
Woon-Ra Park ◽  
Bohyun Yun ◽  
Dong Cheol Seo ◽  
Won-Il Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of sequential presoaking and chlorine dioxide (ClO2) on the reduction of pathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in alfalfa. When unsoaked and presoaked alfalfa were exposed to 200 ppm ClO2 for 15 min, the population of E. coli and Salmonella spp. on presoaked seeds reduced more than those on unsoaked seeds by 2.07 and 1.43 log CFU g−1 (p < 0.05), respectively. To determine the optimal concentration and treatment time to reduce pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella spp. in alfalfa seeds immersed in water for 5 h, presoaked seeds were exposed to four different concentrations of ClO2 (50, 100, 150, and 200 ppm) for 15, 30, 45, and 60 min. The most effective condition to eliminate E. coli and Salmonella spp. from alfalfa seeds was sequential immersion in water for 5 h and 200 ppm ClO2 treatment for 1 h. After the optimal condition was applied to eight kinds of sprout seeds, the pathogens were completely inactivated in all seeds, except radish seeds. Growth of pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella spp. during sprouting after ClO2 treatment of alfalfa seeds was also completely inactivated. However, the germination rate of seeds did not significantly decrease after ClO2 treatment. In addition, ClO2 residues were not present in any sprout during 3 days of cultivation. These results demonstrated that sequential presoaking and 200 ppm ClO2 treatment is the optimal seed disinfection treatment to prevent foodborne diseases associated with sprout consumption.


1999 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 793-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
GULSUN AKDEMIR EVRENDILEK ◽  
Q. HOWARD ZHANG ◽  
EDWARD R. RICHTER

The effect of high voltage pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment on Escherichia coli O157:H7 and generic E. coli 8739 in apple juice was investigated. Fresh apple juice samples inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli 8739 were treated by PEF with selected parameters including electric field strength, treatment time, and treatment temperature. Samples were exposed to bipolar pulses with electric field strengths of 30, 26, 22, and 18 kV/cm and total treatment times of 172, 144, 115, and 86 μs. A 5-log reduction in both cultures was determined by a standard nonselective medium spread plate laboratory procedure. Treatment temperature was kept below 35°C. Results showed no difference in the sensitivities of E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli 8739 against PEF treatment. PEF is a promising technology for the inactivation of E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli 8739 in apple juice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-77
Author(s):  
Tu Lijun ◽  
Sun Hanju ◽  
He Shudong ◽  
Zhu Yongsheng ◽  
Yu Ming ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to investigate epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) prebiotics activities systematically which was reported as a bioactive substance. Therefore, EGCG was separated by water extraction, resin purification and prep-HPLC. Then the production of EGCG was confirmed by HPLC and mass spectrometry (MS) analysis and its purify was 97.23%. EGCG extractive and green tea extract (GTE) were further incubated with Bifidobacterium infantis, B. adolescentis, B. bifidum and Lactobacillus acidophilus to study its effect on microbial populations and medium pH. Finally, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans were employed as pathogenic bacteria to explore the antimicrobial activity of EGCG and GTE. The results demonstrated that EGCG extractive could be beneficial for the proliferation of Bifidobacterium and L. acidophilus and also inhibit some pathogenic bacteria. In conclusion, both EGCG extractive and GTE had prebiotics activities and the effects of EGCG extractive were superior to those of GTE.


1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 75-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Würzer ◽  
A. Wiedenmann ◽  
K. Botzenhart

In Germany the application of procedures such as flocculation and filtration in the preparation of drinking water results in the annual production of an estimated 500,000 t of sediments and sludges. Some of these residues have a potential for being reused, for example in agriculture, forestry, brickworks or waste water treatment. To assess the microbiological quality of residues from waterworks methods for the detection of enterobacteria, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella, poliovirus, Ascaris suis eggs and Cryptosporidium have been evaluated regarding their detection limits and were applied to various residues from German waterworks. Results show that sediments and sludges may contain pathogenic bacteria, viruses and protista. When residues from waterworks are intended to be reused in agriculture or forestry the microbiological quality should therefore be considered.


2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Coward ◽  
Gopujara Dharmalingham ◽  
Omar Abdulle ◽  
Tim Avis ◽  
Stephan Beisken ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The use of bacterial transposon mutant libraries in phenotypic screens is a well-established technique for determining which genes are essential or advantageous for growth in conditions of interest. Standard, inactivating, transposon libraries cannot give direct information about genes whose over-expression gives a selective advantage. We report the development of a system wherein outward-oriented promoters are included in mini-transposons, generation of transposon mutant libraries in Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and their use to probe genes important for growth under selection with the antimicrobial fosfomycin, and a recently-developed leucyl-tRNA synthase inhibitor. In addition to the identification of known mechanisms of action and resistance, we identify the carbon–phosphorous lyase complex as a potential resistance liability for fosfomycin in E. coli and P. aeruginosa. The use of this technology can facilitate the development of novel mechanism-of-action antimicrobials that are urgently required to combat the increasing threat worldwide from antimicrobial-resistant pathogenic bacteria.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (13) ◽  
pp. 2424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tăbăcaru ◽  
Botezatu ◽  
Horincar ◽  
Furdui ◽  
Dinică

A family of fifteen quaternary ammonium salts (QAs), bearing the 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane core, were obtained using for the first time two different green methods, such as microwave (MW) and ultrasounds (US) irradiation, with very good yields and in much shorter times compared to the classical method, and an assay on their antimicrobial action against Escherichia coli (E. coli) was carried out. While 12 to 24 hours were required for complete alkylation of 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane by reactive halogenated derivatives in anhydrous solvent under reflux conditions, MW and US irradiation reduced the reaction time and the desired products were achieved in a few min. One of the aims of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial potential of the synthesized QAs against pathogenic bacteria, along with their impact on germination activity of wheat seeds (Triticum aestivum L.). The antibacterial activity of the QAs against Escherichia coli was explored by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The MIC values varied from 0.312 to 2.5 mg/mL, highlighting the lowest values attained for the derivatives containing methoxy, chlorine and benzofurane functional groups. The viability of aerobic bacteria was determined with the Tetrazolium/Formazan Test, a method that was found to be the best alternative approach with respect to the difuzimetric method. Seeds of Triticum aestivum L. were used for the evaluation of the germination indicators, such as seed germination (SG), the relative seed germination (RSG), the relative radicle growth (RRG), and the seed germination index (GI). The toxicity studies of QAs 1, 4 and 7, at two different concentrations, showed no inhibitory effect on seed germination.


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