Prevalence of Clostridium species and behaviour of Clostridium botulinum in gnocchi, a REPFED of italian origin

Torre, Manuela Del; Stecchini, Mara Lucia; Braconnier, Agnès; Peck, Michael W.

doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2004.01.004

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A total of 5 samples of egg pasta (out of 47 tested) were contaminated with spores of nonproteolytic C. botulinum type B, but the concentration was Ͻ100 spores/kg. There appear to be no previously published reports on the incidence of nonproteolytic C. botulinum spores in pasta, but testing of a related product, gnocchi and its ingredients (including flour), failed to detect such spores (9), although the method was not as sensitive as that used in the present study. The heat treatment delivered to pasta prior to its addition to a chilled meal (or when in the meal) could reduce the viability of spores of nonproteolytic C. botulinum, but any surviving spores may germinate in response to the associated rise in water activity and lead to growth and toxin formation if appropriate controls are not in place.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 72%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Development and Application of a New Method for Specific and Sensitive Enumeration of Spores of Nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum Types B, E, and F in Foods and Food Materials

Peck

Plowman

Aldus

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The highly potent botulinum neurotoxins are responsible for botulism, a severe neuroparalytic disease. Strains of nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum form neurotoxins of types B, E, and F and are the main hazard associated with minimally heated refrigerated foods. Recent developments in quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) and food safety objectives (FSO) have made food safety more quantitative and include, as inputs, probability distributions for the contamination of food materials and foods. A new method that combines a selective enrichment culture with multiplex PCR has been developed and validated to enumerate specifically the spores of nonproteolytic C. botulinum. Key features of this new method include the following: (i) it is specific for nonproteolytic C. botulinum (and does not detect proteolytic C. botulinum), (ii) the detection limit has been determined for each food tested (using carefully structured control samples), and (iii) a low detection limit has been achieved by the use of selective enrichment and large test samples. The method has been used to enumerate spores of nonproteolytic C. botulinum in 637 samples of 19 food materials included in pasta-based minimally heated refrigerated foods and in 7 complete foods. A total of 32 samples (5 egg pastas and 27 scallops) contained spores of nonproteolytic C. botulinum type B or F. The majority of samples contained <100 spores/kg, but one sample of scallops contained 444 spores/kg. Nonproteolytic C. botulinum type E was not detected. Importantly, for QMRA and FSO, the construction of probability distributions will enable the frequency of packs containing particular levels of contamination to be determined.Food-borne botulism is a severe and deadly intoxication caused by the consumption of food containing as little as 30 to 100 ng of preformed botulinum neurotoxin (45). More than 2,500 cases of botulism were reported in Europe in 1999 and 2000, with the majority of cases in the east of the continent (44). Currently, 25 to 50 food-borne botulism cases are diagnosed annually in the United States (27). There are seven distinct botulinum neurotoxins (types A to G) and a number of subtypes (6,26,45). In view of the potency of the botulinum neurotoxin and the severity of botulism, four phylogenetically distinct bacteria are grouped together as the Clostridium botulinum species, solely on the basis of their ability to form botulinum neurotoxin. The divergence between these four distinct bacteria is strong enough to merit their classification as distinct species and in some cases is significantly greater than that between bacteria belonging to different genera, e.g., Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus (7). Two of these bacteria (proteolytic C. botulinum and nonproteolytic C. botulinum) are responsible for the majority of cases of food-borne botulism. Strains of proteolytic C. botulinum produce neurotoxins of type A, B, or F, form spores of high heat resistance, and have a minimum growth temperature of approximately 12°C (39). Strains of...

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 72%

“…Spores of nonproteolytic C. botulinum were produced using a two-phase medium of water over cooked meat agar (46) (9) and included in a single spore mixture. Spores were harvested, washed, and separated from cell debris by discontinuous density gradient centrifugation (52) and stored in water at 2°C until required.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Application of a New Method for Specific and Sensitive Enumeration of Spores of Nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum Types B, E, and F in Foods and Food Materials

Peck

Plowman

Aldus

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1998b). Such low temperatures may well inhibit the growth of some species/strains of Clostridium (Del Torre et al. 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation and sources of ‘blown pack’ spoilage clostridia in beef abattoirs

Moschonas

Bolton

Sheridan

et al. 2009

Journal of Applied Microbiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims: (i) To evaluate methods for isolation and molecular detection of blown pack spoilage (BPS) clostridia and (ii) to survey beef abattoirs for sources and distributions of Clostridium estertheticum and Cl. gasigenes. Methods and Results: Molecular detection and conventional isolation methods were used to detect and recover BPS associated clostridia (Cl. estertheticum and Cl. gasigenes), from four commercial Irish beef abattoirs and their environments, during a one year study. DNA‐based methods detected 218 Cl. estertheticum and 300 Cl. gasigenes, from 1680 samples, whereas culture‐methods only yielded 17 Cl. estertheticum and 176 Cl. gasigenes isolates. BPS Clostridia were frequently detected in beef abattoirs and their environments, especially at areas prior to hide removal. The study noted a higher percentage of positive samples during the month of May (38·6%). Conclusions: (i) DNA‐based techniques are the most reliable ways to determine the presence of these organisms in various samples and (ii) hides and faeces are the main reservoirs of BPS clostridia in the abattoirs. Significance and Impact of the Study: This paper provides useful information to detect BPS organisms, as well as to develop a science‐based control strategy of the problem.

show abstract

“…Output from the process risk model was consistent with an assessment of the prevalence and behaviour of nonproteolytic Cl. botulinum in gnocchi (Del Torre et al. 2004).…”

Section: Control Of Nonproteolytic Clostridium Botulinum In Minimallymentioning

confidence: 99%

Clostridium botulinum and the safety of minimally heated, chilled foods: an emerging issue?

2006

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Foodborne botulism is caused by consumption of preformed botulinum neurotoxin, with as little as 30 ng of neurotoxin being potentially lethal. Consumption of minute quantities of neurotoxin‐containing food can result in botulism. In view of the severity of foodborne botulism, it is essential that new foods be developed safely without an increase in incidence of this disease. Minimally heated, chilled foods are a relatively new type of food, sales of which are currently increasing by about 10% per annum. These products meet consumer demand for high‐quality foods that require little preparation time. Their safety and quality depends on mild heat treatment, chilled storage, restricted shelf life and sometimes on intrinsic properties of the foods. The principal microbiological hazard is nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum, and there is a concern that this may become an emerging issue. A considerable amount of research and development over the last 15 years has underpinned the safe production of commercial, minimally heated, chilled foods with respect to foodborne botulism, and it is essential that safe food continues to be developed. In particular, the desire to use lighter heat processes and a longer shelf life presents a challenge that will only be met by significant developments in quantitative microbiological food safety.

show abstract

Prevalence of Clostridium species and behaviour of Clostridium botulinum in gnocchi, a REPFED of italian origin

Cited by 24 publications

References 56 publications

Development and Application of a New Method for Specific and Sensitive Enumeration of Spores of Nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum Types B, E, and F in Foods and Food Materials

Development and Application of a New Method for Specific and Sensitive Enumeration of Spores of Nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum Types B, E, and F in Foods and Food Materials

Isolation and sources of ‘blown pack’ spoilage clostridia in beef abattoirs

Clostridium botulinum and the safety of minimally heated, chilled foods: an emerging issue?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About