Incidence and contamination level of Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. in ready-to-eat meat products in Jordan. 2010

S S Awaisheh
Food Microbiology and Safety Laboratory, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Mu'tah University, Karak, Jordan, 71610. Saddam_awaisheh@yahoo.com

The objective of the present study was to investigate the incidence and contamination levels of different Listeria monocytogenes serovars in ready-to-eat meat products (RTE-MP) collected from different outlets and processing plants in Jordan in order (i) to provide information to Jordanian health authorities on the incidence of L. monocytogenes in RTE-MP sold and consumed in Jordan and (ii) to ascertain the risks of these products for consumers. Two hundred forty RTE-MP samples, 120 beef and 120 poultry, were analyzed. European International Organization for Standardization (EN ISO) 11290-1 and -2 standard protocols were used for detection and enumeration of L. monocytogenes. The identity of suspected L. monocytogenes was confirmed using PCR. Three Listeria spp., L. monocytogenes, L. innocua, and L. welshimeri, were isolated. L. innocua and L. welshimeri were the most and least frequently isolated with 56 and 36 samples, respectively. L. monocytogenes was isolated from 41 samples (17.1%): 23 from beef and 18 from poultry samples. The contamination levels of L. monocytogenes were <or=100 CFU/g in 97.5% (40 samples) of the positive samples. Only one beef sample with a count of >100 CFU/g was found. The L. monocytogenes strains isolated fell into two serotypes (1 and 4) and four different serovars (1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c, and 4b).

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007597 Jordan A country in the MIDDLE EAST, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel and Iraq. The capital is Amman.
D008087 Listeria A genus of bacteria which may be found in the feces of animals and man, on vegetation, and in silage. Its species are parasitic on cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals, including man.
D008089 Listeria monocytogenes A species of gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria widely distributed in nature. It has been isolated from sewage, soil, silage, and from feces of healthy animals and man. Infection with this bacterium leads to encephalitis, meningitis, endocarditis, and abortion.
D008461 Meat Products Articles of food which are derived by a process of manufacture from any portion of carcasses of any animal used for food (e.g., head cheese, sausage, scrapple). Meat Product,Product, Meat,Products, Meat
D011202 Poultry Products Food products manufactured from poultry. Poultry Product,Product, Poultry,Products, Poultry
D003257 Consumer Product Safety The sum total of measures taken and regulatory policies enacted to ensure the safe use of consumer products. Safety, Consumer Product,Product Approval,Product Approvals,Product Safety, Consumer
D005506 Food Contamination The presence in food of harmful, unpalatable, or otherwise objectionable foreign substances, e.g. chemicals, microorganisms or diluents, before, during, or after processing or storage. Food Adulteration,Adulteration, Food,Adulterations, Food,Contamination, Food,Contaminations, Food,Food Adulterations,Food Contaminations
D005516 Food Microbiology The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in food and food products. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms: the presence of various non-pathogenic bacteria and fungi in cheeses and wines, for example, is included in this concept. Microbiology, Food
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012703 Serotyping Process of determining and distinguishing species of bacteria or viruses based on antigens they share. Serotypings

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