SUMMARYSalmonella enteritidis PT4 was recovered from fingers following the breaking of intact shell eggs artificially contaminated in the contents with the bacterium. Kitchen utensils used to mix egg dishes were salmonella-positive, sometimes after washing. Following the preparation of batter or the mixing of eggs, S. enteritidis was recovered from work surfaces over 40 cm from the mixing bowl. The bacterium survived well in thin, dry films of either batter or egg and, from an initial level of one cell per cm2, could be recovered from formica work surfaces 24 h after contamination.

Aim: This study compared the performance of three Campylobacter enrichment broths: Bolton broth (BB), Campylobacter Enrichment broth (CEB) and Preston broth (PB). Methods and Results: Pure cultures of target and competitor organisms, and naturallycontaminated food samples, were used to establish the performance of these media. In pure culture the PB supported the growth of the greatest number of strains of Campylobacter spp. but failed to inhibit some competitor organisms. The CEB showed the opposite result, inhibiting all 15 competitor organisms used but failing to support the growth of ®ve Campylobacter strains. By comparison, BB showed the best compromise between inhibition of competitors and growth of Campylobacter. Conclusions: Plates inoculated with BB and CEB food enrichments resulted in more Campylobacter growth than those inoculated with PB, which supported signi®cantly less typical growth (P 0Á001). The most common competitor organism isolated from PB was Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas spp. were frequently isolated from BB and CEB. Both BB and CEB were better than PB for the isolation of Campylobacter from naturallycontaminated foods, although BB yielded more con®rmed Campylobacter growth than CEB. Signi®cance and Impact of the Study: This study highlighted differences in performance of media used to isolate Campylobacter spp. from foods.

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The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. in sand from non-EEC standard and EEC standard designated beaches in different locations in the UK and to assess if potentially pathogenic strains were present. Campylobacter spp. were detected in 82/182 (45%) of sand samples and Salmonella spp. in 10/182 (6%). Campylobacter spp. were isolated from 46/92 (50%) of samples from non-EEC standard beaches and 36/90 (40%) from EEC standard beaches. The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. was greater in wet sand from both types of beaches but, surprisingly, more than 30% of samples from dry sand also contained these organisms. The major pathogenic species C. jejuni and C. coli were more prevalent in sand from non-EEC standard beaches. In contrast, C. lari and urease positive thermophilic campylobacters, which are associated with seagulls and other migratory birds, were more prevalent in sand from EEC standard beaches. Campylobacter isolates were further characterized by biotyping and serotyping, which confirmed that strains known to be of types associated with human infections were frequently found in sand on bathing beaches.