Aim:  The aim of this study was to demonstrate the occurrence of potential pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafoods using DNA‐based techniques in comparison with bacteriological methods. Methods and Results:  From 120 fresh and processed fish and mussel samples collected from Middle Black Sea, 32 isolates were identified as V. parahaemolyticus by bacteriological methods and confirmed by tl gene‐based conventional PCR. Of them, 13 isolates were found positive for only tdh gene, six isolates for only trh gene and 13 isolates for both genes by multiplex PCR. Conclusions:  It is the first report demonstrating the presence of potential pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus isolates from the Black Sea seafoods by PCR detection of tl, trh and tdh genes that was found more rapid than bacteriological methods. Significance and Impact of the Study:  This study confirmed the previous reports that characterization of potential pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus isolates based on the PCR techniques was reliable and cost‐effective. These results suggest that molecular detection methods should be included in Turkish Standards of seafood control in addition to bacteriological methods.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in 122 samples, including 60 raw milk, 32 white cheese, 10 kashar cheese, 10 butter, and 10 ice cream samples obtained from Samsun province, Turkey. In this study, S. aureus was detected in 64 samples, including raw milk (45/60; 75%), white cheese (12/32; 37.5%), kashar cheese (3/10; 30%), butter (3/10; 30%), and ice cream (1/10; 10%) samples. A total of 81 isolates were identified as S. aureus by PCR with the presence of 16S rRNA and nuc genes. The presence of genes encoding the staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) SEA, SEB, SEC, and SED was detected by multiplex PCR. According to the analysis, seven isolates from the raw milk samples (7/51; 13.7%) were enterotoxigenic; five of them produced SEA (5/7; 71.4%), one produced SEB (1/7; 14.2%), and one produced SEA+SEB (1/7; 14.2%). Four isolates from the white cheese samples (4/21; 19%) produced the SEA (1/4; 25%), SEC (1/4; 25%), SED (1/4; 25%), and SEA+SED (1/4; 25%) toxins. Two isolates from the kashar cheese samples (2/4; 50%) were found to be enterotoxigenic; one produced SEA (1/2; 50%) and the other produced SED (1/2; 50%). One isolate from the butter samples (1/4; 25%) showed enterotoxigenic character (SEB, 1/1; 100%). The products were found to be potentially hazardous to public health because of the fact that levels of contamination were higher than 105-106 cfu/g ml in 39% (25/64, 17 raw milk, 7 white cheese, and 1 butter) of the analyzed samples.

Makale Kodu (Article Code): KVFD-2009-982 SummaryThe purpose of this study is to determine some heavy metals in muscle tissues of fish collected from the Middle Black Sea Coast of Samsun, Sinop, Terme, Fatsa and Ordu in Turkey. A total of 1650 fish samples including Trachurus trachurus, Alosa caspia, Pomatomus saltatrix, Mullus barbatus, Spicara smaris, Engraulis encrasicolus, Gobius cephalarges, Sarda sarda, Merlangius euxmus and Psetta maxima were used as material. Metal concentrations in fish samples were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The average value of metal concentrations in fish samples were determined as follows: 2.38 μg/g for Cu, 5.41 for Mn, 26.06 for Fe, 3.40 for Ni, 25.74 for Zn, 0.77 for Pb and 0.022 for Cd, but Hg was not detected. These values were compared with FAO/WHO standards and metal concentrations in fish samples were found to be lower than the maximum permissible levels, but lead level was found to be higher. Keywords: Heavy metal, Atomic absorption spectrometry, Fish Orta Karadeniz Bölgesinden Toplanan Balıklarda Ağır Metal Düzeylerinin Belirlenmesi ÖzetBu çalışma Türkiye'nin Orta Karadeniz kıyılarındaki Samsun, Sinop, Terme, Fatsa ve Ordu yörelerinden toplanan balık kas dokularında bazı ağır metal düzeylerinin araştırılması amacıyla yapıldı. İstavrit, tirsi, çinekop, barbun, izmarit, hamsi, kaya balığı, palamut, mezgit ve kalkan olmak üzere toplam 1650 adet balık örneği materyal olarak kullanıldı. Balıkta metal konsantrasyonu atomik absorbsiyon spektrometresi kullanılarak belirlendi. Balık örneklerinde ortalama ağır metal konsantrasyonları: Cu: 2,38, Mn: 5,41, Fe: 26,06, Ni: 3,40, Zn: 25,74, Pb:0,77 ve Cd: 0,022 μg/g olarak bulundu, Hg ise tespit edilemedi. Elde edilen bu değerler FAO/WHO standartları ile karşılaştırıldığında balık örneklerinin maksimum kabul edilebilir limitleri aşmadığı, fakat kurşun düzeyinin limitlerin üzerinde olduğu belirlendi.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of enterotoxigenic and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in ice creams. After culture-based identification of isolates, the presence of 16S rRNA and nuc was confirmed by mPCR. S. aureus was identified in 18 of 56 fruity (32.1%), 4 of 32 vanilla (12.5%), and 1 of 12 chocolate (8.3%) ice creams. S. aureus was identified as 38 isolates in 23 ice cream samples by culture-based techniques, but only 35 isolates were confirmed by PCR as S. aureus. To determine the enterotoxigenic properties of PCR-confirmed S. aureus isolates, a toxin detection kit was used (SET RPLA®). Of the 12 enterotoxigenic S. aureus isolates, 9 SEB (75%), 1 SED (8.3%), 1 SEB+SED (8.3%), and 1 SEA+SEB+SED (8.3%) expressing isolates were found. The presence of enterotoxin genes (sea, seb, sed) was identified in 13 (37.1%) out of 35 isolates by the mPCR technique. In the ice cream isolates, the sea, seb, and sed genes were detected: 1 sea (7.6%), 9 seb (69.2%), 1 sed (7.6%), 1 seb+sed (7.6%), and 1 sea+seb+sed (7.6%), respectively. The sec gene was not detected in any of these isolates. One of the 35 (2.8%) S. aureus strain was mecA positive.

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IntroductionListeria monocytogenes is a gram-positive foodborne pathogen that causes listeriosis, leading to septicemia, encephalitis, meningitis, and gastroenteritis, particularly in pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and immunosuppressed individuals (1).L. monocytogenes is widely distributed in nature. The organism is commonly found in silage, soil, sewage, fertilizer, vegetable matter, and many foods including cabbage, coleslaw, raw milk and dairy products, meat, poultry, and their products (2). The other important source of L. monocytogenes infection is consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods such as cooked meats, desserts, sandwiches, cheese from either raw or pasteurized milk, and fish products. These foods are not cooked or reheated before serving. Therefore L. monocytogenes can survive and grow under refrigerated conditions in packaged RTE foods (3,4). Several outbreaks of listeriosis in the United States in 1998-2008 as indicated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were associated with the consumption of RTE foods. It was reported that 359 people were affected in 24 confirmed listeriosis outbreaks, resulting in 215 hospitalizations and 38 deaths (5).There is little information on the prevalence and contamination levels of L. monocytogenes in RTE foods in Turkey. RTE foods such as Turkish-style tomato dip/ condiment (ezme), stuffed mussels, fried spiced liver, and mayonnaise-based salads are frequently consumed in Turkey. Ingredients and preparation methods of these RTE foods are summarized in Table 1.Conventional bacteriological methods used for the identification of L. monocytogenes are not always reliable and are often time-consuming and laborious. Thus, more reliable, rapid, and cost-effective molecular techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods have been developed for the detection of these pathogens in food (6). The hly gene encoding hemolysin listeriolysin O (LLO), a pore-forming exotoxin with hemolytic activity, is an important virulence factor for the specific detection of L. monocytogenes (7).The increased use of antibiotics for therapeutic purposes in animals and humans has led to the development of antibiotic resistance, an important public health concern (8). Studies have shown the existence of L. monocytogenes strains that are resistant to one or more antibiotics such as nalidixic acid, oxacillin, tetracycline, gentamicin,