Prevalence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, and Population Levels of Food Safety Indicator Microorganisms in Retail Raw Chicken Meat and Ready-To-Eat Fresh Leafy Greens Salads Sold in Greece
The presence of microbial pathogens in foods compromises their safety resulting in foodborne illnesses, public health disorders, product recalls, and economic losses. In this work, 60 samples of chilled raw chicken meat and 40 samples of packaged ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh leafy greens salads, sold in...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/24/4502 |
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| author | Dimitra Kostoglou Maria Simoni Georgios Vafeiadis Nikolaos-Marios Kaftantzis Efstathios Giaouris |
| author_facet | Dimitra Kostoglou Maria Simoni Georgios Vafeiadis Nikolaos-Marios Kaftantzis Efstathios Giaouris |
| author_sort | Dimitra Kostoglou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The presence of microbial pathogens in foods compromises their safety resulting in foodborne illnesses, public health disorders, product recalls, and economic losses. In this work, 60 samples of chilled raw chicken meat and 40 samples of packaged ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh leafy greens salads, sold in Greek retail stores (butchers and supermarkets), were analyzed for the presence of three important foodborne pathogenic bacteria, i.e., <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, following the detection protocols of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In parallel, the total aerobic plate count (APC), <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>, total coliforms, <i>Escherichia coli</i>, and staphylococci were also enumerated as hygiene (safety) indicator organisms. When present, representative typical colonies for each pathogen were biochemically verified, following the ISO guidelines. At the same time, all the <i>Campylobacter</i> isolates from chicken (<i>n</i> = 120) were identified to the species level and further phylogenetically discriminated through multiplex and repetitive sequence-based (rep) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods, respectively. Concerning raw chicken, <i>Campylobacter</i> spp. were recovered from 54 samples (90.0%) and <i>Salmonella</i> spp. were recovered from 9 samples (15.0%), while <i>L. monocytogenes</i> was present in 35 samples (58.3%). No <i>Campylobacter</i> was recovered from salads, and <i>Salmonella</i> was present in only one sample (2.5%), while three salads were found to be contaminated with <i>L. monocytogenes</i> (7.5%). The 65% of the <i>Campylobacter</i> chicken isolates belonged to <i>C. jejuni</i>, whereas the rest, 35%, belonged to <i>C. coli</i>. Alarmingly, APC was equal to or above 10<sup>6</sup> CFU/g in 53.3% and 95.0% of chicken and salad samples, respectively, while the populations of some of the other safety indicators were in some cases also high. In sum, this study unravels high occurrence percentages for some pathogenic and food safety indicator microorganisms in raw chicken meat and RTE fresh leafy greens salads sold in Greek retail, highlighting the need for more extensive microbiological control throughout the food production chain (from the farm/field to the market). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:46:41Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:46:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
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| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj.art-5369135b2ba04ff78169c02fc726a9a62023-12-22T14:09:02ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582023-12-011224450210.3390/foods12244502Prevalence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, and Population Levels of Food Safety Indicator Microorganisms in Retail Raw Chicken Meat and Ready-To-Eat Fresh Leafy Greens Salads Sold in GreeceDimitra Kostoglou0Maria Simoni1Georgios Vafeiadis2Nikolaos-Marios Kaftantzis3Efstathios Giaouris4Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Myrina, Lemnos, GreeceLaboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Myrina, Lemnos, GreeceLaboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Myrina, Lemnos, GreeceLaboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Myrina, Lemnos, GreeceLaboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Myrina, Lemnos, GreeceThe presence of microbial pathogens in foods compromises their safety resulting in foodborne illnesses, public health disorders, product recalls, and economic losses. In this work, 60 samples of chilled raw chicken meat and 40 samples of packaged ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh leafy greens salads, sold in Greek retail stores (butchers and supermarkets), were analyzed for the presence of three important foodborne pathogenic bacteria, i.e., <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, following the detection protocols of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In parallel, the total aerobic plate count (APC), <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>, total coliforms, <i>Escherichia coli</i>, and staphylococci were also enumerated as hygiene (safety) indicator organisms. When present, representative typical colonies for each pathogen were biochemically verified, following the ISO guidelines. At the same time, all the <i>Campylobacter</i> isolates from chicken (<i>n</i> = 120) were identified to the species level and further phylogenetically discriminated through multiplex and repetitive sequence-based (rep) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods, respectively. Concerning raw chicken, <i>Campylobacter</i> spp. were recovered from 54 samples (90.0%) and <i>Salmonella</i> spp. were recovered from 9 samples (15.0%), while <i>L. monocytogenes</i> was present in 35 samples (58.3%). No <i>Campylobacter</i> was recovered from salads, and <i>Salmonella</i> was present in only one sample (2.5%), while three salads were found to be contaminated with <i>L. monocytogenes</i> (7.5%). The 65% of the <i>Campylobacter</i> chicken isolates belonged to <i>C. jejuni</i>, whereas the rest, 35%, belonged to <i>C. coli</i>. Alarmingly, APC was equal to or above 10<sup>6</sup> CFU/g in 53.3% and 95.0% of chicken and salad samples, respectively, while the populations of some of the other safety indicators were in some cases also high. In sum, this study unravels high occurrence percentages for some pathogenic and food safety indicator microorganisms in raw chicken meat and RTE fresh leafy greens salads sold in Greek retail, highlighting the need for more extensive microbiological control throughout the food production chain (from the farm/field to the market).https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/24/4502foodborne bacterial pathogensfood safety indicatorsraw chicken meatfresh leafy greens saladspublic health |
| spellingShingle | Dimitra Kostoglou Maria Simoni Georgios Vafeiadis Nikolaos-Marios Kaftantzis Efstathios Giaouris Prevalence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, and Population Levels of Food Safety Indicator Microorganisms in Retail Raw Chicken Meat and Ready-To-Eat Fresh Leafy Greens Salads Sold in Greece Foods foodborne bacterial pathogens food safety indicators raw chicken meat fresh leafy greens salads public health |
| title | Prevalence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, and Population Levels of Food Safety Indicator Microorganisms in Retail Raw Chicken Meat and Ready-To-Eat Fresh Leafy Greens Salads Sold in Greece |
| title_full | Prevalence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, and Population Levels of Food Safety Indicator Microorganisms in Retail Raw Chicken Meat and Ready-To-Eat Fresh Leafy Greens Salads Sold in Greece |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, and Population Levels of Food Safety Indicator Microorganisms in Retail Raw Chicken Meat and Ready-To-Eat Fresh Leafy Greens Salads Sold in Greece |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, and Population Levels of Food Safety Indicator Microorganisms in Retail Raw Chicken Meat and Ready-To-Eat Fresh Leafy Greens Salads Sold in Greece |
| title_short | Prevalence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp., <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, and Population Levels of Food Safety Indicator Microorganisms in Retail Raw Chicken Meat and Ready-To-Eat Fresh Leafy Greens Salads Sold in Greece |
| title_sort | prevalence of i campylobacter i spp i salmonella i spp and i listeria monocytogenes i and population levels of food safety indicator microorganisms in retail raw chicken meat and ready to eat fresh leafy greens salads sold in greece |
| topic | foodborne bacterial pathogens food safety indicators raw chicken meat fresh leafy greens salads public health |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/24/4502 |
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