Detection of species adulteration in meat products is important for consumer protection and food labeling law enforcement. In this study, samples of 28 fermented sausages; 14 cooked salami; 11 frankfurters; 9 raw meats; 16 raw ground meats and meat balls; 3 pastramis, 2 hams and 5 bacons; 7 cooked meats; and 5 canned products resulting in a total of 100 meat and meat products were analyzed for species determination by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test kits prepared with monoclonal antibody technique. Results showed that 11 of 28 fermented sausages (39.2%), 5 of 14 cooked salami (35.7%), 3 of 11 frankfurters (27.2%), 2 of 9 raw meat (22.2%) and 1 of 16 raw ground meat and meat ball (6.2%) samples were found to contain undeclared species. Fermented sausage, cooked salami and frankfurter samples that had been declared as beef only contained poultry meat. Raw meat samples that were declared as beef were determined as horse and deer meat. One meatball sample declared as beef was found to be poultry meat. These results indicate that 22.0% of the samples were not in compliance with Turkish Food Codex violating consumer rights and presenting a potential public health risk. A 4 Corresponding

While cattle in general have been identified as a reservoir of Escherichia coli O157:H7, there are limited data regarding the prevalence and clonality of this pathogen in downer dairy cattle and the potential impact to human health that may occur following consumption of meat derived from downer dairy cattle. In the present study, conducted at two slaughter facilities in Wisconsin between May and October of 2001, we established a higher prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in fecal and/or tissue samples obtained aseptically from intact colons of downer dairy cattle (10 of 203, 4.9%) than in those from healthy dairy cattle (3 of 201, 1.5%). Analyses of 57 isolates, representing these 13 positive samples (one to five isolates per sample), by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, revealed 13 distinct XbaI restriction endonuclease digestion profiles (REDP). Typically, isolates from different animals displayed distinct REDP and isolates from the same fecal or colon sample displayed indistinguishable REDP. However, in one sample, two different, but highly related, REDP were displayed by the isolates recovered. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicated that 10 of the 57 isolates, recovered from 2 (1 downer and 1 healthy animal) of the 13 positive samples, were resistant to at least 1 of 18 antimicrobials tested. However, there was no appreciable difference in the frequency of resistance of isolates recovered from downer and healthy dairy cattle, and not all isolates with the same REDP displayed the same antimicrobial susceptibility profile. Lastly, it was not possible to distinguish between isolates recovered from downer and healthy cattle based on their XbaI REDP or antimicrobial susceptibility. These results indicate that downer cattle had a 3.3-fold-higher prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 than healthy cattle within the time frame and geographic scope of this study.Over the past 20 years, Escherichia coli O157:H7 has emerged as a pathogen of significant public health concern in the United States, causing an estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths per year (24,35). Although person-toperson transmission has been documented, transmission of E. coli O157:H7, in most cases, occurs through contaminated food or water, with the consumption of raw or undercooked foods of bovine origin being the most common route of food-borne infection (25,30,39). Indeed, cattle are a primary reservoir of this organism worldwide (7). Numerous studies (2,4,7,11,16) have revealed that the organism is common in both dairy and beef herds, with a prevalence of up to 75% in dairy herds (17) and 63% in beef herds (18). The prevalence for individual animals within herds in North America and Europe is estimated at 1.8 to 16%, with levels as high as 36% being reported (2,8,32). Due to the ubiquity of E. coli O157:H7 among cattle, as well as its low infective dose and the severity of the resultant illness in humans, effective control of the pathogen may be possible only by eliminating this microorganism at its source rather than by relying on proper fo...

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The objectives of this study were to determine the serotype distribution of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from ground turkey using a multiplex PCR assay and to determine antimicrobial resistance profiles of the isolates using the disc diffusion method. Of 78 isolates, 35 (44.9%), 29 (37.2%), 7 (9.0%), and 7 (9.0%) were identified as serotypes 1/2a (or 3a), 4b (or 4d or 4e), 1/2b (or 3b), and 1/2c (or 3c), respectively. Overall, 63 isolates (80.8%) were resistant to penicillin G, and 53 (67.9%) were resistant to ampicillin. All 1/2c (or 3c) serotype isolates were resistant to penicillin G and ampicillin, and all 1/2b (or 3b) serotype isolates were resistant to penicillin G. In addition, 91.4% (32 of 35) of 1/2a (or 3a), 57.1% (4 of 7) of 1/2b (or 3b), and 37.9% (11 of 29) of 4b (or 4d or 4e) serotype isolates were resistant to ampicillin, and 85.7% (30 of 35) of 1/2a (or 3a) and 65.5% (19 of 29) of 4b (or 4d or 4e) serotype isolates were resistant to penicillin G. In conclusion, most of the L. monocytogenes isolates identified were serotype 1/2a (or 3a) and 4b (or 4d or 4e). Serotype 1/2c (or 3c) isolates were highly resistant to antibiotics compared with isolates of serotypes 1/2a (or 3a), 1/2b (or 3b), and 4b (or 4d or 4e). Increasing resistance of L. monocytogenes to ampicillin and penicillin is an especially serious concern for public health because of the common use of these antibiotics in treatment of human listeriosis cases.

1. Conventional cultivation and immunomagnetic separation (IMS) cultivation methods were compared for the isolation specificity and sensitivity of L. monocytogenes from turkey meat samples. PCR was used to confirm the isolates. Disc diffusion was performed to determine the antibiotic susceptibility profiles. A total of 180 turkey meat samples collected from markets in Turkey were tested. 2. L. monocytogenes was detected in 23 samples (12.7%) by IMS and conventional cultivation. It was isolated from 16.6% (10/60), 11.6% (7/60) and 10.0% (6/60) of the meat cut, breast and leg samples, respectively. PCR assay was performed based on hlyA (LLO-listeriolysin O) gene specific primers. In all 23 (100.0%) isolates of the hlyA gene were determined. The disc diffusion test showed that 19 (82.6%) isolates were resistant to penicillin G and 17 (73.9%) to ampicillin. In addition, 8 isolates were partially resistant to erythromycin and 8 to streptomycin. 3. In conclusion, to safeguard public health turkey meat must be produced under hygienic and suitable technological conditions. Furthermore antimicrobials, as prophylactic or growth promoter agents, must be firmly controlled by governmental agencies.