Arcobacter is a genus of growing importance worldwide; some of its species are considered emerging enteropathogens and potential zoonotic agents. In Costa Rica, as well as in other countries, its isolation has been reported, so the objective of this project was to evaluate and identify the presence of Arcobacter in chicken viscera sold in the metropolitan area of San José, Costa Rica, as well as to determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns associated with it. One hundred fifty samples of chicken viscera including heart, liver, and other gastrointestinal organs were purchased from 15 supermarkets and 15 local retailers. De Boer and Houf broths were used as enrichment media; isolation was done with Arcobacter-selective medium and with membrane filtration with blood agar. Typical colonies were identified with genus-specific PCR, and species identification was made with multiplex PCR. Susceptibility to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin, and tetracycline was done with the Epsilometer test. The isolation frequency of Arcobacter genus obtained in this study was of 17.3%. A total of 33 isolates were obtained from the poultry samples, and according to the multiplex PCR methodology, 22 (66.7%) isolates were identified as Arcobacter butzleri, 8 (24.2%) as Arcobacter cryaerophilus, and 1 (3.1%) as Arcobacter skirrowii. Two strains were not identified. No statistical significant difference was found when the source of samples was compared. Resistance toward chloramphenicol was 68.75%, followed by ampicillin (43.75%) and ciprofloxacin (18.75%); all strains were susceptible to tetracycline.

Rabbit meat consumption has increased worldwide due to its health benefits in humans but few studies addressed the stability of this food matrix. The effect of two types of packaging (vacuum, VP; and polystyrene tray overwrap with PVC/polyvinyl plastic film, PT) was evaluated on the microbial stability (psychrotrophic; PSY, lactic acid bacteria; LAB, initial coliforms counts) and physicochemical (pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total volatile basic Nitrogen (TBV-N), color and drip loss) changes of ground rabbit meat during its storage at 4 ± 1 °C. VP packaging delayed PSY growth, lipid oxidation, protein degradation and undesirable color changes compared to PT samples. Shelf life of ground rabbit meat in vacuum condition could be around 10 days of storage, while PT samples presented a shorter shelf life of around 5 days. However, sensory studies must be performed in order to assure the exact shelf life of the final product.

Introducción. Los ácidos clorogénicos son componentes de relevancia presentes en las diferentes partes del fruto de café; son básicamente ésteres de ácido trans-cinámico que poseen actividad antioxidante, hipoglicemiante, antiviral, hepatoprotectora y nutraceútica, entre otras. Objetivo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue recopilar y analizar la información disponible en la literatura científica sobre la actividad antioxidante y antimicrobiana presente en el café, y algunos de los productos generados durante su procesamiento. Desarrollo. A lo largo del proceso que se lleva a cabo para la obtención de la bebida de café se generan una serie de productos derivados (broza, mucílago, pergamino, “silver skin”), que en muchas ocasiones son subutlizados, a pesar de que poseen cantidades importantes de ácidos clorogénicos, lo que potencialmente los convierte en elementos de interés para la industria farmacéutica, cosmética y alimentaria. Estos productos derivados exhiben importante actividad antioxidante y antimicrobiana, especialmente contra microorganismos gram positivos. En Costa Rica, la investigación referente a los derivados generados durante la producción del café es incipiente, sin embargo, los sectores productivos en conjunto con los investigadores podrían considerarlo como una alternativa novedosa y apta para revalorizar la operación productiva del grano de café. Conclusión. Existe evidencia científica que indica que, tanto los granos como los subproductos derivados del café poseen compuestos fenólicos que benefician la salud humana.

Microbiological quality of raw material and final product of tilapia and shrimp ceviche expended in the Metropolitan Area of San José, Costa Rica. Ceviche is a common use dish from Latin American countries, made up of raw fish or seafood marinated with lemon or lime juice, and several seasoning ingredients. It includes the normal flora coming from raw product and flora acquired from handling and additional ingredients. The product is consumed raw, representing a risk for Public Health. The aim of this work was to determine the microbiological quality of tilapia fish ceviche and shrimp ceviche sold at the Metropolitan Area of San José, Costa Rica, as well as the raw material used in its elaboration. A total of 25 samples of tilapia ceviche and 27 samples of shrimp ceviche were analyzed; the same number of raw material was analyzed. The behavior of some of the spoilage populations was analyzed in 25 samples of shrimp and same number of tilapia ceviche during its storage at 4ºC. Even though the ceviche includes manipulation plus an important bacterial contamination in raw material, there is an important reduction in the bacterial charge of the final product, especially referring to total aerobic psychrofilic plate count and total coliforms; but not to fecal coliforms. Escherichia coli was isolated from 15% of the tilapia's ceviche and 4% from shrimp's ceviche, 3 strains of Listeria monocytogenes were isolated from tilapia, one from shrimp, 3 strains of V. parahaermolyticus were isolated from shrimp and 2 from its ceviche. Salmonella spp. was not isolated. The pH of ceviche plates stored at 4ºC for one week showed a trend towards stability or a slight increase of this parameter. The concentration of spoilage microorganisms suffered slight variations, nevertheless, the low number of Pseudomonas spp. present in tilapia's ceviche is an outstanding result considering that this population is associated to spoilage of the product. KEY WORDSCeviche, tilapia, shrimp, spoilage. RESUMENEl ceviche es un platillo formulado a base de pescado de agua salada o dulce, o mariscos frescos y diversos aliños. Su elaboración acarrea no solo la flora normal y adquirida de la materia prima a utilizar, sino que también la flora que se agregue durante su procesamiento y a partir de ingredientes adicionales. Además, es un producto que se consume marinado, representando un riego para la salud pública. El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar la calidad microbiológica del ceviche de tilapia y del ceviche de camarón que se vende en el Área Metropolitana de San José, Costa Rica, así como de la materia prima utilizada en su respectiva elaboración. Para tal efecto, se analizaron 25 muestras de ceviche de tilapia y 27 de camarón, analizando igual número de muestras de materia prima. De la misma manera, se analizó el comportamiento de las poblaciones de algunos microorganismos de deterioro a partir de 25 muestras de ceviche de camarón y 25 muestras de ceviche de tilapia durante su almacenaje a 4ºC. A pesar de la contaminación bacteriológic...

No abstract