Aim:The objective of the study was to investigate the occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium in meat and meat products using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.Materials and Methods:The assay combined an enrichment step in tryptic soy broth with yeast extract formulated for the simultaneous growth of target pathogens, DNA isolation and multiplex PCR. A total of 1134 samples including beef (n=349), chicken (n=325), pork (n=310), chevon (n=50), and meat products (n=100) were collected from different parts of Kerala, India. All the samples were subjected to multiplex PCR analysis and culture-based detection for the four pathogens in parallel.Results:Overall occurrence of L. monocytogenes was 0.08 % by cultural method. However, no L. monocytogenes was obtained by multiplex PCR method. Yersinia enterocolitica was obtained from beef and pork samples. A high prevalence of S. aureus (46.7%) was found in all types of meat samples tested. None of the samples was positive for S. Typhimurium.Conclusion:Multiplex PCR assay used in this study can detect more than one pathogen simultaneously by amplifying more than one target gene in a single reaction, which can save time and labor cost.

Aim:The objective of the study was to detect Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and develop a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay to quantify the bacterial DNA present in different food matrices.Materials and Methods:A total of 758 samples were collected during a period from January 2015 to December 2016 from Kozhikode, Thrissur, and Alappuzha districts of Kerala. The samples consisted of raw milk (135), pasteurized milk (100), beef (132), buffalo meat (130), chevon (104), beef kheema (115), and beef sausage (42). All the samples collected were subjected to isolation and identification of STEC by conventional culture technique. Confirmation of virulence genes was carried out using PCR. For the quantification of STEC in different food matrices, a qPCR was standardized against stx1 gene of STEC by the construction of standard curve using SYBR green chemistry.Results:The overall occurrence of STEC in raw milk (n=135), beef (n=132), buffalo meat (n=130), chevon (n=104), and beef kheema (n=115) samples collected from Kozhikode, Thrissur, and Alappuzha districts of Kerala was 19.26%, 41.6%, 16.92%, 28.85%, and 41.74%, respectively. PCR revealed the presence of stx 1 and stx 2 genes in 88.46 and 83.64 and 30.77 and 40.00% of STEC isolates from raw milk and beef samples, respectively, while 100% of the STEC isolates from buffalo beef and beef kheema samples carried stx 1 gene. Real-time qPCR assay was used to quantify the bacterial cells present in different food matrices. The standard curve was developed, and the slopes, intercept, and R2 of linear regression curves were −3.10, 34.24, and 0.99, respectively.Conclusion:The considerably high occurrence of STEC in the study confirms the importance of foods of animal origin as a vehicle of infection to humans. In the present study, on comparing the overall occurrence of STEC, the highest percentage of occurrence was reported in beef kheema samples. The study shows the need for rigid food safety measures to combat the potential pathogenic effects of harmful bacteria throughout the production chain from production to consumption.

Aim:The study was conducted to evaluate the performance of different enrichment broths such as Tryptic Soy Yeast extract Broth (TSBYE), Brain Heart Infusion broth (BHI), Nutrient Broth (NB), Luria Broth (LB) and Peptone water (PW) for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium. Materials and Methods:The bacterial strains were procured from Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), 0 0Chandigarh. Growth of these food borne pathogens at two different incubation temperatures (35 C and 37 C) and three different incubation periods (12h., 16h. and 18h.) were studied. Results:The result of the study showed that enrichment in Tryptic soy broth with yeast extract (TSBYE) and incubation at 0 37 C for 18h. is superior for the enrichment of all the organisms under study.Conclusion: TSBYE can be used very effectively as universal enrichment broth in comparison with all other enrichment broths studied for the detection of L. monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, S. aureus and S. enterica Typhimurium.

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