Authors
Cabedo L, Picart i Barrot L, Teixidó i Canelles A
Institution
Public Health Veterinary Service, Health Department, Catalonia, Spain, Roc Boronat 81-95, 08005 Barcelona, Spain. laura.cabedo@gencat.net
Source
J Food Prot 2008 Apr; 71(4)
:855-9.Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella are pathogenic bacteria that can contaminate food products during or after processing. Ready-to-eat (RTE) food does not undergo any treatment to ensure its safety before consumption, and therefore risk of foodborne disease must be considered if these pathogens are present in the food. To evaluate the prevalence of these pathogens in RTE food, 140 RTE fish product samples, 501 RTE meat product samples, 462 RTE dairy samples, and 123 RTE dishes and desserts, providing a total of 1,226 samples, were collected from retail stores and food industry and analyzed for the presence of L. monocytogenes. A total of 1,379 samples consisting of 187 RTE fish products and 569 RTE meat products, 484 RTE dairy products, and 139 RTE dishes and desserts were collected and analyzed for the presence of Salmonella. L. monocytogenes was isolated from 20% of frozen Atlantic bonito small pies, 7.9% of smoked salmon samples, 11.1% of the pork luncheon meat samples, 6.2% of frozen chicken croquettes, 16.9% of cured dried sausage samples, 12.5% of cooked ham samples, and 20% of cooked turkey breast samples. L. monocytogenes was also found to be present in 1.3% of fresh salty cheese samples and 15.1% of frozen cannelloni samples. Salmonella was isolated from 1.2% of smoked salmon samples, 1.5% of frozen chicken croquettes, 2% of cooked ham samples, and 11.1% of cured dried sausage samples. Overall, occurrence of these pathogens in RTE foods was similar to that previously reported in the literature.
Mesh
AnimalsColony Count, MicrobialConsumer Product SafetyDairy ProductsFish ProductsFood ContaminationFood MicrobiologyHumansListeria monocytogenesMeat ProductsPrevalenceSalmonellaSpainLanguage
eng
Pub Type(s)
Journal Article
PubMed ID
18468047
