Presence of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Meat Products Sold at Retail Stores in Costa Rica and Analysis of Contributing Factors.
J Food Prot
; 84(10): 1729-1740, 2021 10 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34047780
ABSTRACT: Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogenic bacterium associated with ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products sold at the retail level. The objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in RTE meat products sold at retail in Costa Rica and to study the factors associated with the levels of contamination; analyzed factors include hygienic practices within stores (cutting techniques and microbial contamination of products) and the behavior of the isolates (persistence against antimicrobials and transfer potential). A total of 190 samples of RTE meat products were collected and analyzed for the presence of coliforms and Listeria spp. Isolates of L. monocytogenes were then evaluated in terms of resistance to disinfectants (quaternary ammonium compound [QAC] and chlorine) and their transfer potential from food contact surfaces (knife and cutting boards). Overall Listeria spp. prevalence was 37.4% (71 of 190); Listeria innocua was present in 32.1% (61 of 190) of the products, and L. monocytogenes was found in just 2.6% (5 of 190) of the samples. Most contaminated samples were cut with a knife at the moment of purchase (44.2%). When analyzing practices within the stores, it was observed that L. monocytogenes transfer from inoculated knife to salchichón was higher for samples cut at the beginning of the experiment. In addition, L. monocytogenes transfer from inoculated cutting boards was independent of the number of slices but contamination from plastic was higher than wood. Regarding L. monocytogenes resistance to disinfectants, average reductions of 2.6 ± 1.1 log CFU/mL were detected after 6 min of exposure to 200 ppm of chlorine; however, chlorine resistance varied among the strains. Prevalence of L. monocytogenes in RTE meat products sold at retail could be associated with handling practices within the stores; further studies are necessary to estimate the impact of these practices on the overall risk for consumers.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Contaminação de Alimentos
/
Fast Foods
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Listeria monocytogenes
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Produtos da Carne
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
País/Região como assunto:
America central
/
Costa rica
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Food Prot
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Costa Rica
País de publicação:
Estados Unidos