International Journal of Food Microbiology (INT J FOOD MICROBIOL)

Publications in this journal

• Article: Occurrence of generic E. coli, E. coli O157 and Salmonella spp. in water and sediment from leafy green produce farms and streams on the Central California coast

  Lisa Benjamin, Edward R. Atwill, Michele Jay-Russell, Michael Cooley, Diana Carychao, Lisa Gorski, Robert E. Mandrell
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  ABSTRACT: Irrigation with water of poor microbiological quality can elevate levels of bacteria on produce. This study aimed to identify climate and management variables associated with generic E. coli in irrigation water on leafy green produce farms and to measure the prevalence of E. coli O157 and Salmonella spp. in irrigation and non-irrigation water sources on these farms. Water and sediment samples collected from various points along irrigation systems, as well as from streams and ponds on farms on the Central California coast between May 27th, 2008 and October 26th, 2010 were cultured for generic E. coli (MPN/100 mL or cfu 100 g) (n=436), E. coli O157 (n=437), and (n=163) Salmonella. Variables were based on grower’s management practices, landscape features in proximity to samples (e.g., distance to roads and ranches/livestock), and climate data accessed from an online database. Negative binomial regression models were constructed to test associations between generic E. coli (MPN/100 mL) in water from farms and variables. Arithmetic mean concentration of E. coli for water, not including those from Moore swabs, and sediment samples, was 7.1 x 102 MPN/100 mL and 1.0 x 104 cfu/100 g, respectively. Matched by collection day, E. coli concentration in sediment (cfu/100 g) was typically 10- to 1000-fold higher than the overlying water (MPN/100 mL) for these irrigation systems. Generic E. coli concentration (MPN/100 mL) increased by 60.1% for each 1 m/s increase in wind speed and decreased by 3% for each 10 m increase in the distance between the sample location and rangeland. Moore swabs detected a higher proportion of E. coli O157 (13.8%) positive water samples compared to grab samples (1.8%); 1.7% of sediment samples had detectable levels of this pathogen. Interestingly, season was not significantly associated with E. coli O157 presence in water or sediments from produce farms or water sources with public access. Salmonella was detected in 6% (6/96) water and 4.3% (3/67) sediment samples. Generic E. coli concentration was not significantly associated with the presence of either E. coli O157 or Salmonella in water or sediment samples, suggesting that, for this 2.5-year period and geographical location, generic E. coli would likely be an unreliable indicator bacteria for predicting the presence of these food- and waterborne pathogens in a key produce production environment.
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 04/2013;
• Article: Safety of shellfish and epidemiological pattern of enterically transmitted diseases in Italy.

  Prato R, Martinelli D, Tafuri S, Barbuti G, Quarto M, Germinario CA, Chironna M
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  ABSTRACT: In recent decades in South-Italy, drastic epidemiological changes in the pattern of the enterically transmitted diseases were recorded. This work aims to support the hypothesis that universal routine vaccination against hepatitis A started in Puglia in 1998 could be also effective in reducing contamination in seafood. Three studies on different samples of Mitylus edulis lamellibranch were conducted over 20years. Microbiological analysis measured both the standard bacteriological indexes (faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp.) and the presence of hepatitis A, enterovirus, norovirus and rotavirus. Between 1989 and 2009, the highest number of hepatitis A cases was reported in 1996 and in 1997 (mean incidence rate of 130 per 100,000). Since 1999, the number of cases progressively decreased, reaching 29 cases in 2006 (incidence rate of 0.7 per 100,000). A progressive improvement in vaccination coverage of newborns was recorded ranging from 1997 (38.3%) to 2005 birth-cohorts (63.4%). Vaccination coverage of 12-year-old adolescents was 67.6% (95% CI: 58.4-76.8%). Hepatitis A was detected in 3.7% of samples in the 1987 study, in 18.3% of samples in the 1999-2000 study and it was absent in the 2007 study. The decreasing of HAV circulation in humans and in shellfish provides support for the link between vaccination efforts and the safety of molluscs.
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 01/2013; 162(2):125-128.
• Article: Thermophilic spore-forming bacteria isolated from spoiled canned food and their heat resistance. Results of a French ten-year survey

  S. André, F. Zuber, F. Remize
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 01/2013;
• Article: Assessment of a regulatory sanitization process in Egyptian dairy plants in regard to the adherence of some food-borne pathogens and their biofilms

  Mohamed A. Bayoumi, Rania M. Kamal, Salah F. Abd El Aal, Esmat I. Awad
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  ABSTRACT: Food-borne pathogens may develop certain strategies that enable them to defy harsh conditions such as chemical sanitization. Biofilm formation represents a prominent one among those adopted strategies, by which food-borne pathogens protect themselves against external threats. Thus, bacterial biofilm is considered as a major hazard for safe food production. This study was designed to investigate the adherence and the biofilm formation ability of some food-borne pathogens on stainless steel and polypropylene surfaces using chip assay, and to validate regular sanitizing process (sodium hypochlorite 250 mg/L) for effective elimination of those pathogens. Sixteen pathogenic bacterial strains, previously isolated from raw milk and dairy products at Zagazig city, Egypt (9 Staphylococcus aureus, 4 Cronobacter sakazakii and 3 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium), were chosen for this study. Strains showed different patterns of adherence and biofilm formation on tested surfaces with minor significance between surfaces. The ability of sodium hypochlorite to completely eradicate either adhered or biofilm-embedded pathogens varied significantly depending on the strain and type of surface used. Whilst, sodium hypochlorite reduced tested pathogens counts per cm2 of produced biofilms, but it was not able to entirely eliminate neither them nor adherent Cronobacter sakazakii to stainless steel surface. This study revealed that biofilm is considered as a sustainable source of contamination of dairy products with these pathogens, and also emphasized the need of paying more attention to the cleaning and sanitizing processes of food contact surfaces.
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 07/2012;
• Article: Pulsed light treatment for the inactivation of selected pathogens and the shelf-life extension of beef and tuna carpaccio

  Eva Hierro, Monica Ganan, Elvira Barroso, Manuela Fernández
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 07/2012;
• Article: Clinical Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates cannot cross the epithelial barrier in vitro.

  Pérez-Torrado R, Llopis S, Jespersen L, Fernández-Espinar T, Querol A
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 04/2012;
• Article: Growth curve prediction from optical density data.

  Mytilinaios, Salih, Schofield, H.K, Lambert
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 03/2012; 154:169-176.
• Article: Diversity of the heterotrophic microbial populations for distinguishing natural mineral waters.

  Arnau Casanovas-Massana, Anicet R Blanch
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  ABSTRACT: In the recent years the consumption of natural mineral waters has risen all over the world, becoming a usual alternative for tap water and other beverages. Natural mineral waters are complex environments containing a high diversity of autochthonous microbiota. The identification and characterization of this indigenous microbiota may help to detect changes occurring in the different steps of the bottling process and take preventive measures before the bottled water arrives to the consumer. The aims of this study were to describe the bacterial heterotrophic populations in natural mineral waters with a cultivation-dependent method and determine whether their autochthonous microbiota were specific enough to be clearly distinguished from that of other natural mineral waters with a phenotypic-based method. For this purpose, water from three independent Spanish springs was sampled in two seasons (winter and summer) and heterotrophic aerobic bacterial strains were isolated at two temperatures (22 ± 2°C and 36 ± 2°C) on R2A agar. Isolates were phenotyped biochemically with Php-48 plates (Bactus AB, Sweden), and the indexes of diversity and similarity between populations were calculated. The 16S rRNA gene of the most representative strains of each biochemical cluster was sequenced for its identification. Finally, a ten-fold cross-validation method was assayed for the identification of the origin of a natural mineral water when phenotyping a set of isolates. High levels of diversity were found at all sites. One of the sources was found to present less diversity due to a confirmed contamination with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The study of the similarities showed that growing temperatures and seasons caused significant differences in structures and composition at the sources. In addition, several bacterial species were isolated and identified, some of them rarely isolated in natural mineral waters, revealing the complexity and lack of knowledge of these ecosystems. Consequently, the applied phenotypic methodology was found to be feasible for differential identification of microbiota in these environments. Moreover, the experimental model assayed was strong enough to identify the origin of a natural mineral water. It may thus be possible to confirm that the evaluation of diversity of heterotrophic aerobic bacterial populations could be applied to identify bottled water sources.
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 02/2012; 153(1-2):38-44.
• Article: In vitro and in situ antimicrobial action and mechanism of glycinin and its basic subunit

  Mahmoud Z. Sitohy a, Samir A. Mahgoub b, Ali O. Osman
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 01/2012; 154:19-29.
• Article: A taxonomic and ecological overview of cheese fungi

  Jeanne Ropars, Corinne Cruaud, Sandrine Lacoste, Joëlle Dupont
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  ABSTRACT: Cheese is made from milk by a succession of microbes (bacteria, yeasts and fungi) that determine the consistency and flavor of the cheese. Apart from the emblematic species, Penicillium camemberti and Penicillium roqueforti, cheese fungi are not well known. Here we present a taxonomic and phylogenetic overview of the most important filamentous cheese Ascomycota based on 133 isolates provided by the producers of cheese and cheese starter cultures and 97 isolates fromculture collections.We checked the congruence of different gene genealogies to circumscribe cheese species and our results allow us to propose molecular targets for their identification. To study their phylogenetic affiliation, we used LSU rDNA and showed that cheese fungi are found in two classes, the Eurotiomycetes with Penicillium species (Eurotiales) and Sporendonema casei/ Sphaerosporium equinum (Onygenales), and the Sordariomycetes with Scopulariopsis species (Microascales) and Fusarium domesticum (Hypocreales). Some of these fungi, such as, P. camemberti, F. domesticum, Scopulariopsis flava and S. casei, are only known fromcheeses and are probably adapted to this particular habitat, which is extremely rich in protein and fat. Other cheese fungi are ubiquitous, such as, P. roqueforti, Scopulariopsis candida and Scopulariopsis fusca.
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 01/2012;