Francis Butler

Cronobacter species (formerly known as Enterobacter sakazakii) in powdered infant formula: a review of our current understanding of the biology of this bacterium

Cronobacter species (formerly known as Enterobacter sakazakii) are opportunistic pathogens that can cause necrotizing enterocolitis, bacteraemia and meningitis, predominantly in neonates. Infection in these vulnerable infants has been linked to the consumption of contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF). Considerable research has been undertaken on this organism in the past number of years which has enhanced our understanding of this neonatal pathogen leading to improvements in its control within the PIF production environment. The taxonomy of the organism resulted in the recognition of a new genus, Cronobacter, which consists of seven species. This paper presents an up‐to‐date review of our current knowledge of Cronobacter species. Taxonomy, genome sequencing, current detection protocols and epidemiology are all discussed. In addition, consideration is given to the control of this organism in the manufacturing environment, as a first step towards reducing the occurrence of this pathogen in PIF.

A review of quantitative microbial risk assessment in the management of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on beef

Since Escherichia coli O157:H7 first emerged as a food borne pathogen in the mid 1980s, it has been linked to many cases of food poisoning across the world. While multiple sources and routes of transmission for this pathogen are now recognised, beef and beef products remain an important vehicle of the pathogen and continue to be linked to outbreaks across the developed world. Much research has been directed at E. coli O157:H7 transmission, survival and control in the beef chain and this paper presents an overview of current knowledge on this pathogen in the beef chain from primary production through slaughter, processing, distribution, final preparation and cooking. In order to strategically manage E. coli O157:H7 and to devise approaches to reduce the public health risk posed, many national and international groups have applied quantitative risk assessment techniques to model the risk posed by E. coli O157:H7 in beef, particularly in ground/minced beef which is most often linked with infection. This paper reviews these quantitative risk assessments and their application in managing the risk posed by E. coli O157:H7 in beef.

Factors affecting the pH decline in lamb after slaughter.

Early postmortem pH has been linked to meat tenderness, especially in electrical stimulation and/or rapid chilling applications. In order to evaluate factors that affect pH, a trial was carried out in which 96 lambs were slaughtered over a period of 12 months. Carcass traits including age, sex and weight were recorded and the pH of M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum was measured at 0.5, 1.5, 4 and 24 h postmortem. Significant differences in pH were present over the 12 months but these differences could not be attributed to seasonal or age factors. The sex of the animal had no effect on early pH (0.5 h, 1.5 h) or final pH (24 h), but the 4 h pH of female lambs was lower than that of male lambs (P<0.001). Regression analysis, using 0.5 h pH and other measured traits, showed that individual male and female prediction models were better (R(2)=0.80 and RSD=0.10) for predicting 4 h pH than a combined model (R(2)=0.74 and RSD=0.11).

Count data distributions and their zero-modified equivalents as a framework for modelling microbial data with a relatively high occurrence of zero counts.

In many cases, microbial data are characterised by a relatively high proportion of zero counts, as occurs with some hygiene indicators and pathogens, which complicates the statistical treatment under the assumption of log normality. The objective of this work was to introduce an alternative Poisson-based distribution framework capable of representing this kind of data without incurring loss of information. The negative binomial, and two zero-modified parameterizations of the Poisson and negative binomial distributions (zero-inflated and hurdle) were fitted to actual zero-inflated bacterial data consisting of total coliforms (n=590) and Escherichia coli (n=677) present on beef carcasses sampled from nine Irish abattoirs. Improvement over the simple Poisson was shown by the simple negative binomial (p=0.426 for chi(2) test for the coliforms data) due to the added heterogeneity parameter, although it slightly overestimated the zero counts and underestimated the first few positive counts for both data sets. Whereas, the zero-modified Poisson could not cope with the data over-dispersion in any of its parameterizations (p<0.001 for chi(2) tests), the parameterizations of the zero-modified negative binomial presented differences in fit due to approximation errors. While the zero-inflated negative binomial parameterization was apparently reduced to a negative binomial due to a non-convergence of the logit parameter estimate, the goodness of fit of the hurdle negative binomial parameterization indicated that for the data sets under evaluation (coliforms data with approximately 13% zero counts and E.coli data with approximately 42% zero counts), the zero-modified negative binomial distribution was comparable to the simpler negative binomial distribution. Thus, bacterial data consisting of a considerable number of zero counts can be appropriately represented by using such count distributions, and this work serves as the starting point for an alternative statistical treatment of this kind of data and stochastic risk assessment modelling.

Tracking the Salmonella status of pigs and pork from lairage through the slaughter process in the Republic of Ireland.

Salmonella Typhimurium is the predominant serotype isolated from humans in Europe. Pork and pork products are recognized vehicles of Salmonella and are responsible for outbreaks of human salmonellosis. Pigs can become infected with Salmonella on the breeding or fattening farm and during transport, lairage, and slaughter. The aim of this study was to investigate selected points of Salmonella contamination from the time pigs entered the lairage to the time the carcass was processed in the boning hall and to determine the importance of different sources of Salmonella along the Irish pork production chain. A second objective was to evaluate whether the serological status or category of a herd influenced the levels of bacteriological contamination detected on individual carcasses and pork cuts during slaughter and dressing operations. All samples were tested for the presence and numbers of Salmonella. Enterobacteriaceae numbers were also determined. Serotype, phage type, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were utilized to determine similarity among Salmonella isolates. Lairage was a major source of cross-contamination with Salmonella as were the hands of evisceration operatives, conveyor belts, and equipment in the boning hall. Cross-contamination within the slaughter plant environment accounted for up to 69 % of Salmonella carcass contamination. In general, herd category reflected the bacteriological status of carcasses and pork cuts. Major findings were a strong association (P < 0.01) between Enterobacteriaceae counts and Salmonella occurrence on prechill carcasses and a significant association (P < 0.05) between Enterobacteriaceae counts and Salmonella occurrence on pork cut samples.

Modelling the fate of Listeria monocytogenes during manufacture and ripening of smeared cheese made with pasteurised or raw milk.

The dynamics of the physicochemical characteristics of foods help to determine the fate of pathogens throughout processing. The aim of this study was to assess the behaviour of Listeria monocytogenes during cheesesmaking and ripening and to model the growth observed under the dynamic conditions of the cheese. A laboratory scale cheese was made in 4 independent replicates from pasteurised or raw cows milk, artificially contaminated with L. monocytogenes. No growth of L. monocytogenes occurred during raw milk cheese-making, whereas growth did occur in pasteurised milk. During ripening, growth occurred in raw milk cheese, but inactivation occurred in pasteurised milk cheese. The behaviour observed for L. monocytogenes was modelled using a logistic primary model coupled with a secondary cardinal model, taking into account the effect of physicochemical conditions (temperature, pH, water activity and lactate). A novel statistical approach was proposed to assess the optimal growth rate of a microorganism from experiments performed in dynamic conditions. This complex model had an acceptable quality of fit on the experimental data. The estimated optimum growth rates can be used to predict the fate of L. monocytogenes during cheese manufacture in raw or pasteurized milk in different physicochemical conditions. The data obtained contributes to a better understanding of the potential risk that L. monocytogenes presents to cheese producers (growth on the product, if it is contaminated) and consumers (the presence of high numbers) and constitutes a very useful set of data for the completion of chain-based modelling studies.

Development and validation of a probabilistic second-order exposure assessment model for Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination of beef trimmings from Irish meat plants

A second-order quantitative Monte Carlo simulation model was developed for Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination of beef trimmings in Irish abattoirs. The assessment considers initial contamination levels, cross-contamination and decontamination events during the cattle slaughter process. The mean simulated prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 on trimmings was 2.36% and the mean simulated counts of E. coli O157:H7 on contaminated trimmings was -2.69log(10)CFU/g. A parallel validation survey provided some confidence in the model predictions. An uncertainty analysis indicated that microbial test sensitivity is a significant factor contributing to model uncertainty and requires further investigation while also indicating that risk reduction measures should be directed towards reducing the hide to carcass transfer (correlation coefficient 0.25) during dehiding and reducing the initial prevalence and counts on bovine hides (correlation coefficients 0.19 and 0.16, respectively). A characterisation of uncertainty and variability indicating that further research is required to reduce parameter uncertainty and to achieve better understanding of microbial transfer in meat plants. The model developed in this study highlights the need for further development of quantitative risk assessments in the food industry.

Alternative methods of pig chilling.

Comparisons were made of the effect on cooling rate, weight loss, texture, bacterial numbers, drip and appearance of pork sides (average dead weight 75 kg) in refrigeration systems using high humidity (ice bank) or conventional chilling, both with and without a rapid pre-chill or delayed chilling, with and without a water spray. All treatments took between 15·7 and 19h post mortem to cool the deep leg of sides to 7°C. Weight loss varied between 0·95% for sides in the delay and spray treatment to 2·17% for conventional chilling. The texture of the M. longissimus dorsi of sides from the rapid pre-chill and conventional chilling treatment was significantly tougher than from the other methods, including those from the rapid pre-chill and high humidity system. Variation in texture between animals within treatments was far greater than between treatments, and could not be explained by variations in cooling and glycolytic rate. There were no significant differences (P > 0·05) in bacterial numbers, drip and appearance between treatments. The choice of chilling system can be made on the basis of weight loss and capital and running costs. The delay and spray treatment would save £37 800 on an annual throughout of 3 080 tonnes of pork compared with a conventional system.

Prevalence and numbers of Salmonella spp. and Enterobacteriaceae on pork cuts in abattoirs in the Republic of Ireland

Aims:  This study aimed to determine the numbers and types of Salmonella spp. and Enterobacteriaceae on pork cuts in the meat cutting room environment of four commercial pork abattoirs in the Republic of Ireland.

Effect of Storage on the Content of Polyphenols of Minimally Processed Skin-On Apple Wedges from Ten Cultivars and Two Growing Seasons

In this study, the polyphenolic composition of skin-on apple wedges from ten cultivars was examined during chill storage and over two growing seasons. Individual polyphenol compounds were measured using HPLC resulting in the total polyphenolic index (TPI). Total phenolic content (TPC) was quantified using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. Chilled storage had a significant effect (P < 0.001) on the polyphenol composition of all ten cultivars grown in 2007 and 2008. Total phenolic indices (sum of individual polyphenols) and TPCs of nine of the ten cultivars significantly decreased (P < 0.001) after 5 days of storage at 2-4 degrees C. These indices increased in case of Shampion apples over the same storage period. Changes in the most abundant compounds (-)-epicatechin, procyanidins and chlorogenic acid were largely responsible for changes in overall TPI. Percentage loss was higher for compounds such as phloridzin with a degradation of up to 100%. Irrespective of the different starting level of specific polyphenols in each year; storage resulted in a similar percentage loss/gain for each cultivar.