International journal of food microbiology最新文献

{"title":"Whole-genome sequence-based comparison of antimicrobial resistant diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in pork and chicken production chains in Korea","authors":"Hyeonwoo Cho ,&nbsp;Yeona Kim ,&nbsp;Amany Hassan ,&nbsp;Kun Taek Park","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111085","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111085","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Diarrheagenic <em>Escherichia coli</em> (DEC) is a serious public health threat. We investigated the distribution, antimicrobial resistance, and molecular characteristics of DEC in pork and chicken production chains following the “One Health” approach. We collected 1567 pig- and 771 chicken-associated samples from animal farms, slaughterhouses, and retail markets. Of these samples, we identified 150 DEC isolates, with 73 (4.7 %) originating from pigs and 77 (10 %) from chickens. DEC risk of contamination in the final product (meat) was significantly higher in chickens (27.3 %) compared to pigs (0.5 %). In addition, carryover meat contamination was observed by clones originating from slaughterhouses in the chicken meat production chain. The resistance of chicken-associated isolates compared to pig-associated isolates to most antimicrobial agents was higher. Phylogenetic analysis following whole-genome sequencing of 150 DEC showed distinct lineages based on the host species, resulting in 20 clusters and 16 singletons. Multilocus sequence typing and serotyping revealed 25 and 30 different sequence types (STs) and serotypes, respectively. Human infection-related STs, including ST10 (11 %), ST23 (2.3 %), and ST48 (6.8 %), along with serotypes O89 (12.3 %), O26 (6.8 %), O103 (5.5 %), O121 (2.7 %), and O145 (2.7 %), were commonly detected in pig-associated isolates, emphasizing a zoonotic risk. Furthermore, the presence of various plasmids containing antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes was evident, posing a risk of spreading these genes to clinically important pathogens. Therefore, implementing effective control programs to reduce the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant DEC in food production systems is important.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"431 ","pages":"Article 111085"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143149262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Antibacterial activity and multi-target mechanism of harmane against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and its application on ready-to-eat leafy greens","authors":"Meixia Sui ,&nbsp;Jiaoyue Zhang ,&nbsp;Jingying Li ,&nbsp;Li Wang ,&nbsp;Zhenzhen Gao ,&nbsp;Wenjia Dan ,&nbsp;Jiangkun Dai","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111084","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111084","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Escherichia coli</em> O157:H7 has caused many foodborne disease outbreaks and resulted in unimaginable economic losses. With the evolution of food consumption, people prefer natural preservatives. In this study, the natural agent harmane exhibited potential activity against <em>E. coli</em> O157:H7 (MIC = 64 μg/mL). It exhibited bacteriostatic mode at 1 X and 2 X MIC treatment, and bactericidal mode at 4 X MIC treatment. Moreover, it showed good <em>in vitro</em> stability in sheep plasma, low <em>in vitro</em> hemolysis and no <em>in vivo</em> acute toxicity with LD₅₀ &gt; 50 mg/kg. Moreover, harmane significantly decreased the colony number of <em>E. coli</em> O157:H7 in fresh-cut lettuce samples after 5 days of storage without affecting appearance. The mechanism study elucidated that harmane significantly decomposed the mature biofilm by reducing exopolysaccharide contents, and killed the viable bacterial cells in biofilm. The cell wall was damaged by harmane <em>via</em> interacting with peptidoglycan. Fluorescent staining and intracellular macromolecular leakage assays showed that irreversible destruction to membrane permeability and integrity. When entering the cell, harmane could defeat the redox balance, suppress metabolic activity and target to ribosome. These findings not only revealed the application potential of harmane as new natural preservative, but also preliminarily elucidated the multi-target mechanism, providing a new strategy for controlling <em>E. coli</em> O157:H7 in the food industry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"431 ","pages":"Article 111084"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143038434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Occurrence and cross contamination of Escherichia albertii in retail chicken outlets in Bangladesh","authors":"Jayedul Hassan ,&nbsp;Kishor Sosmith Utsho ,&nbsp;Susmita Karmakar ,&nbsp;Md. Wohab Ali ,&nbsp;Sharda Prasad Awasthi ,&nbsp;Chiharu Uyama ,&nbsp;Noritoshi Hatanaka ,&nbsp;Shinji Yamasaki ,&nbsp;Atsushi Hinenoya","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111081","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111081","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Escherichia albertii</em> is an emerging zoonotic pathogen linked to human gastrointestinal illnesses, with poultry meats being considered as a key source of human infections. However, there is little information regarding the distribution and characteristics of this bacterium in Bangladesh. This study investigated the occurrence, antimicrobial resistance, and virulence of <em>E. albertii</em> in chicken meats from retail outlets in Bangladesh. We collected samples from 61 dressed chickens across 17 retail shops from 4 upazilas, along with swabs from cloaca, processing utensils, and worker hands. Detection of <em>E. albertii</em> by species-specific PCR revealed substantial occurrence of <em>E. albertii</em> in retail chicken meat (63.9 %), cloaca (71.4 %), human hand (45.5 %), bleeding cone (13.3 %) and blade (10 %). Almost all the <em>E. albertii</em> isolates (94.4 %) exhibited resistance to at least one of the tested antimicrobials, among which 50 % were multidrug resistant, including resistance to clinically relevant antimicrobials such as tetracycline, ampicillin, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin. Whole genome sequencing analysis identified the presence of corresponding antimicrobial resistance genes and critical virulence genes (<em>eae</em>, <em>Eacdt</em>). Notably, although wgSNP-based phylogenetic analysis showed the genomic diversity of the isolates, some of the isolates from the same shop displayed clonal relationships among meats, cloacal swabs, and human hand swabs, indicating contamination during processing. These findings highlight the public health risk posed by <em>E. albertii</em> in retail poultry, underlining the poultry's role as a potential vector for zoonotic transmission and the need for improved biosecurity and antimicrobial management practices in poultry production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"431 ","pages":"Article 111081"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143038441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of fresh-cut onion types and flavonoid profiles on the survival kinetics of foodborne pathogen during refrigerated storage","authors":"Veerachandra Yemmireddy,&nbsp;Matthew Mancias","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111080","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111080","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated the effect of onion flavonoid profiles on the growth, survival, and/or death kinetics of foodborne pathogens in fresh-cut onions at 4 °C. Fresh-cut white, yellow, red, and sweet onions were inoculated with separate four-strain cocktail(s) of nalidixic acid-adapted <em>Salmonella</em> spp., <em>Escherichia coli</em> O157:H7, and <em>Listeria monocytogenes</em> achieving a 4 to 5 log CFU g⁻¹. The samples were stored in clam shell containers at 4 °C and 70 ± 2 % relative humidity for 14 days. Additionally, flavonoid profiles were determined on uninoculated control samples stored under similar conditions using standard chromatography techniques, with quercetin derivatives identified as the predominant flavonoids. Results indicated significant differences in pathogen reduction and survival across onion types. <em>Salmonella</em> and <em>E. coli</em> O157:H7 populations declined by 2 to 4 log after 14 days, while L. <em>monocytogenes</em> populations increased on white and red onions, remained stable on yellow onions, and declined on sweet onions. Red onions contained the highest flavonoid concentrations, followed by sweet, yellow, and white onions. Notably, despite having similar flavonoid levels, sweet onions showed greatest reduction of tested pathogens than red onions, suggesting that factors beyond flavonoid content may contribute to pathogen reduction. These findings provide new insights into the behavior of foodborne pathogens in fresh-cut onions and highlight the potential for flavonoids to influence pathogen survival during refrigerated storage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"431 ","pages":"Article 111080"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143038439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from the endophytic fungus Panax notoginseng and their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and effects on cherry tomato preservation","authors":"Diangang Sun ,&nbsp;Ruige Chen ,&nbsp;Liancheng Lei ,&nbsp;Fuxian Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111083","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111083","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated endophytic fungi isolated from the medicinal plant <em>Panax notoginseng</em>. Among these, the endophytic fungus SQ3, identified as <em>Chaetomium globosum</em>, was capable of reducing silver ions to form metallic silver nanoparticles. The green-synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) presented a distinct surface plasmon resonance peak at 424 nm, with particle sizes between 2.92 and 31.34 nm, indicating strong antioxidant activity. In vitro assessments demonstrated that AgNPs exhibited significant antifungal activity against <em>Phytophthora infestans, Botrytis cinerea, and Helminthosporium maydis.</em> AgNPs produced inhibition zones measuring 17.5 mm, 15.2 mm, and 13.4 mm against <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>, <em>Escherichia coli</em>, and <em>Bacillus subtilis</em>, respectively. When applied to cherry tomatoes, AgNP treatment effectively inhibited the growth of <em>Botrytis cinerea</em>, minimized weight loss, preserved fruit firmness and soluble solids content, slowed the reduction in titratable acidity, and prolonged storage life. Additionally, AgNPs suppressed the increase in malondialdehyde content and maintained increased superoxide dismutase activity. These findings highlight the potential of green biosynthetic silver nanoparticles as biological control agents, providing promising resources for developing innovative treatments against postharvest fungal infections in crops.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"431 ","pages":"Article 111083"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143065478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inactivation activity and mechanism of high-voltage pulsed electric fields combined with antibacterial agents against Alicyclobacillus spp. in apple juice","authors":"Rui Cai ,&nbsp;Zhihuan Jing ,&nbsp;Yue Li ,&nbsp;Xinyi Zhong ,&nbsp;Qingling Sheng ,&nbsp;Tianli Yue ,&nbsp;Zhouli Wang ,&nbsp;Yahong Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111079","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111079","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Alicyclobacillus</em> spp. are crucial factors affecting the quality of fruit juice, so it is very important to control their contamination. In this study, the inactivation activity and mechanism of high-voltage pulsed electric fields (HVPEF) combined with antibacterial agents against <em>Alicyclobacillus</em> spp. in apple juice were investigated. It was found that under the optimal conditions of electric field strength 9.6 kV/cm, treatment time 20 min, frequency 1000 Hz, and duty ratio 50 %, HVPEF treatment could reduce bacteria by 1.89–4.76 log CFU/mL. Moreover, the inactivation activities of six antibacterial agents (propyl paraben, glycerol monocaprate, octyl gallate, heptyl paraben, nisin, carvacrol) alone and their combination with HVPEF were further investigated. The results showed that with the combined treatment, the minimum bactericidal concentrations of carvacrol, nisin, and heptyl paraben were reduced by &gt;50 % to 1 mg/mL, 10 IU/mL, and 0.02 mg/mL, respectively. Based on this, the most resistant strain of <em>A. acidoterrestris</em> (DSM 3922) was identified to elucidate the inactivation mechanism. It was demonstrated that the antibacterial process could alter the permeability and fatty acid composition of the cell membrane, causing the cells to deform and shrink, leading to leakage of intracellular proteins, and also affect the synthesis of ROS and ATP, ultimately resulting in bacterial death. In addition, the various treatments had no significant effect on the soluble solids content, titratable acid, soluble sugar content, organic acids and aroma components of apple juice. The combination of HVPEF treatment and antibacterial agents could effectively maintain the quality of apple juice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"431 ","pages":"Article 111079"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143023414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revisiting secondary model features for describing the shoulder and lag parameters of microbial inactivation and growth models","authors":"Alberto Garre ,&nbsp;Vasilis Valdramidis ,&nbsp;Silvia Guillén","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111078","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111078","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Baranyi and Geeraerd models are two of the most reliable models for the description of, respectively, microbial growth and inactivation. They are defined as a system of differential equations, whose algebraic solution can describe the microbial response during isothermal conditions, especially when combined with suitable secondary models. However, there are still large uncertainties regarding the best functions to use as secondary models for the lag phase duration (<em>λ</em>) and the shoulder length (<em>S</em>_<em>l</em>).</div><div>In this article, we revisit these models, focusing on the implications related to the assumption of an ideal substance whose dynamics define bacterial adaptation. We demonstrate that their link with the isothermal lag and shoulder leads to unique secondary models for the effect of temperature changes on <em>λ</em> and <em>S</em>_<em>l</em>. Namely, a log-linear relationship for <em>S</em>_<em>l</em> and a reverse cuadratic relationship for <em>λ</em> (considering a Ratkowsky model for <em>μ</em>). Furthermore, we observe a coupling between both secondary models (<em>k</em> and <em>S</em>_<em>l</em> for Geeraerd; <em>λ</em> and <em>μ</em> for Baranyi), reducing the number of unknown model parameters from four to three. Using data from the scientific literature, we illustrate the applicability of these results, being able to improve the robustness of parameter estimates.</div><div>The identification of these links are of great relevance for the field of predictive microbiology, as they resolve the uncertainty regarding the functional form of secondary models. Our results also provide a way to assess the validity of those dynamic hypotheses using data gathered under isothermal conditions, something that was hardly possible using data gathered under dynamic conditions. Although this study is limited to the effect of temperature, the general approach and methodology are also applicable to other type of secondary models, so this article can be a blueprint for future studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"431 ","pages":"Article 111078"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143038442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of surface roughness on the efficacy of Plasma Activated Mist (PAM) for inactivation of Listeria innocua and Klebsiella michiganensis","authors":"Tejaswini Tumuluri ,&nbsp;Sumeyye Inanoglu ,&nbsp;Donald W. Schaffner,&nbsp;Mukund V. Karwe","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111070","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111070","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cold plasma generated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and DBD combined with nebulized liquid microdroplets to generate plasma-activated mist (PAM) have shown the potential as a surface decontamination method for the food industry. The objective of this research was to measure the microbial inactivation caused by DBD and by PAM on tryptic soy agar (TSA) and on glass slides and to determine the efficacy of PAM on selected surfaces having different surface topographies. Tryptic soy agar in Petri dishes and on glass slides (surface roughness Pq = 0.28 ± 0.02 μm) was inoculated with either 0.1 mL of inoculum containing <em>Listeria innocua</em> (8.4 ± 0.1 log CFU/mL) or <em>Klebsiella michiganensis</em> (8.8 ± 0.2 log CFU/mL) and exposed to either DBD or PAM for 5 to 20 min. Glass slides, grape tomatoes (Pq = 5.17 μm ± 0.53 μm), limes (Pq = 18.76 μm ± 3.00 μm), and spiny gourds (Pq = 101.50 μm ± 10.95 μm) were also surface-inoculated with <em>L. innocua</em> or <em>K. michiganensis</em> and exposed to PAM for 5 to 20 min. No significant difference in microbial inactivation was observed between DBD plasma and PAM for all treatment times. The smoothest surface (glass) showed the highest reduction in <em>L. innocua</em> (3.4 ± 0.2 log CFU/item) and <em>K. michiganensis</em> (5.7 ± 0.0 log CFU/item) after PAM treatment. The roughest surface (spiny gourd) yielded a significantly lower reduction for <em>L. innocua</em> (1.0 ± 0.2 log CFU/item) and <em>K. michiganensis</em> (1.8 ± 0.1 log CFU/item). <em>L. innocua</em> was less susceptible to inactivation by PAM compared <em>K. michiganensis</em>. This study highlighted the importance of surface roughness on microbial inactivation of <em>L. innocua</em> and <em>K. michiganensis</em> by DBD and PAM on produce surfaces.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"431 ","pages":"Article 111070"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143038437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thymoquinone as a potent antimicrobial agent against Yersinia enterocolitica: Mechanisms of action and potential food safety applications","authors":"Hui Yang ,&nbsp;Shuqi Wang ,&nbsp;Pengyu Zhao ,&nbsp;Qiyao Yong ,&nbsp;Qianning Huang ,&nbsp;Fahad Al-Asmari ,&nbsp;Manal Y. Sameeh ,&nbsp;Baowei Yang ,&nbsp;Chunling Zhang ,&nbsp;Xin Wang ,&nbsp;Chao Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111071","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111071","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Yersinia enterocolitica</em> (<em>Y. enterocolitica</em>) is a Gram-negative foodborne pathogen associated with potentially fatal diseases. Herein, the antibacterial activity and possible mechanism of thymoquinone (TQ) against <em>Y. enterocolitica</em> were explored. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration of TQ against <em>Y. enterocolitica</em> were determined to be 0.10 and 0.20 mg/mL, respectively. Treatment with TQ increased the lag phase period and reduced the growth rate of <em>Y. enterocolitica</em>. TQ was also effective in preventing <em>Y. enterocolitica</em> contamination of pork. Treatment of <em>Y. enterocolitica</em> with TQ caused a decrease in intracellular ATP, membrane depolarization and an increase in the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species. In addition, TQ caused damage to DNA, a reduction in protein content, loss of membrane integrity and abnormal cell morphology. These findings suggest that TQ exhibits antimicrobial activity against <em>Y. enterocolitica</em> and may be a suitable compound to reduce <em>Y. enterocolitica</em> growth in food.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"431 ","pages":"Article 111071"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143038443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spoilage characteristics of sous-vide beef caused by Clostridium estertheticum","authors":"Samart Dorn-In,&nbsp;Riem El-Seniti,&nbsp;Karin Schwaiger","doi":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111069","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111069","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing popularity of sous-vide (SV) cooking necessitates research into the microbiological quality, sensory changes, and shelf life of SV products. Studies show that SV cooking significantly reduces the levels of meat microbiota and pathogens, positively affecting the shelf life and safety of SV products. However, the meat spoilage organism <em>Clostridium estertheticum</em> can survive SV cooking as it can produce heat-tolerant spores. Theses spores can germinate and multiply during storage at refrigerated temperatures, leading to spoilage of SV meat. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterise the spoilage of SV beef caused by <em>C. estertheticum</em> compared to non-SV beef. In addition to the determination of spoilage characteristics, all beef samples were subjected to culture and qPCR analysis to determine the numbers of total bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, <em>Enterobacteriaceae</em>, yeasts, and <em>C. estertheticum</em>. Species identification of the colonies on the culture media was performed using MALDI-TOF MS. The tests were carried out at three different times (three repetitions). A total of 90 beef samples were analysed, of which 54 samples were artificially contaminated with three strains of <em>C. estertheticum</em> and vacuum-packed. Of these, 27 beef samples underwent SV cooking (55 °C, 70 min). After 28 days of storage at 4 °C, the SV beef samples exhibited significantly higher levels of gas and stronger spoilage odour compared to non-SV samples (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). While drip loss and pH levels were also higher in SV beef, these were not considered specific spoilage characteristics caused by <em>C. estertheticum</em>. Microbiological and qPCR analyses revealed that all SV beef samples had very low bacterial and yeast counts but very high numbers of <em>C. estertheticum</em>, which strongly correlated with the sensory changes observed. We concluded that SV beef containing <em>C. estertheticum</em> has a shorter shelf life than contaminated non-SV beef. This is the first study to examine the spoilage of SV beef by <em>C. estertheticum</em>. The results may help raise awareness among meat producers and restaurants about the risk of meat losses due to spoilage caused by these bacteria.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14095,"journal":{"name":"International journal of food microbiology","volume":"430 ","pages":"Article 111069"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143004737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}