Prevalence data were collected from official microbiological records monitoring four selected foodborne pathogens (Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Campylobacter jejuni) in raw milk sold by self-service vending machines in seven Italian regions (60,907 samples from 1,239 vending machines) from 2008 to 2011. Data from samples analyzed by both culture-based and real-time PCR methods were collected in one region. One hundred raw milk consumers in four regions were interviewed while purchasing raw milk from vending machines. One hundred seventy-eight of 60,907 samples were positive for one of the four foodborne pathogens investigated: 18 samples were positive for Salmonella, 83 for L. monocytogenes, 24 for E. coli O157:H7, and 53 for C. jejuni in the seven regions investigated. No significant differences in prevalence were found among regions, but a significant increase in C. jejuni prevalence was observed over the years of the study. A comparison of the two analysis methods revealed that real-time PCR was 2.71 to 9.40 times more sensitive than the culture-based method. Data on consumer habits revealed that some behaviors may enhance the risk of infection linked to raw milk consumption: 37% of consumers did not boil milk before consumption, 93% never used an insulated bag to transport raw milk home, and raw milk was consumed by children younger than 5 years of age. These results emphasize that end-product controls alone are not sufficient to guarantee an adequate level of consumer protection. The beta distribution of positive samples in this study and the data on raw milk consumer habits will be useful for the development of a national quantitative risk assessment of Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157, and C. jejuni infection associated with raw milk consumption.
The key factor in the timely conclusion of this investigation was intersectoral collaboration among epidemiologists, microbiologists, veterinarians, statisticians and health and food safety authorities at national, regional and local levels.
Aims: To investigate the bacterial dynamics of a Caciotta cheese traditionally manufactured in the Montefeltro area (Central Italy) with raw cow’s milk and an aqueous extract of dried flowers from Cynara cardunculus as a coagulating agent.
Methods and Results: Conventional methods and a combined PCR‐DGGE approach, relying on culture‐dependent and ‐independent analyses, were used to investigate the cheese bacterial community, with a special focus on lactic acid bacteria. A heterogeneous population, including enterococci, lactococci, lactobacilli, food spoilage and other banal micro‐organisms, was found.
Significance and Impact of the Study: The study contributed to highlighting the influence of different technological parameters on bacterial dynamics of a raw milk Caciotta cheese coagulated with vegetable rennet.
Conclusions: None of the species found in the vegetable rennet became dominant during the cheese‐making and a prevailing role of the adventitions microbita coming from the raw milk and the dairy environment was highlighted.
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