Recent foodborne outbreaks implicating spinach and lettuce have increased consumer concerns regarding the safety of fresh produce. While the most common commercial antimicrobial intervention for fresh produce is wash water containing 50 to 200 ppm chlorine, this study compares the effectiveness of acidified sodium chlorite, chlorine, and acidic electrolyzed water for inactivating Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes inoculated onto leafy greens. Fresh mixed greens were left uninoculated or inoculated with approximately 6 log CFU/g of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and L. monocytogenes and treated by immersion for 60 or 90 s in different wash solutions (1:150, wt/vol), including 50 ppm of chlorine solution acidified to pH 6.5, acidic electrolyzed water (pH 2.1 +/- 0.2, oxygen reduction potential of 1,100 mV, 30 to 35 ppm of free chlorine), and acidified sodium chlorite (1,200 ppm, pH 2.5). Samples were neutralized and homogenized. Bacterial survival was determined by standard spread plating on selective media. Each test case (organism x treatment x time) was replicated twice with five samples per replicate. There was no difference (P > or = 0.05) in the time of immersion on the antimicrobial effectiveness of the treatments. Furthermore, there was no difference (P > or = 0.05) in survival of the three organisms regardless of treatment or time. Acidified sodium chlorite, resulted in reductions in populations of 3 to 3.8 log CFU/g and was more effective than chlorinated water (2.1 to 2.8 log CFU/g reduction). These results provide the produce industry with important information to assist in selection of effective antimicrobial strategies.

Oncoplastic surgery combines plastic surgical techniques with sound surgical oncologic principles. The goal is to completely excise the cancer, with wide surgical margins while maintaining or improving cosmesis. For large, poorly defined, or unfavorably situated tumors, standard lumpectomies may lead to unacceptable cosmetic results in addition to close or involved resection margins. Similar problems may occur for smaller tumors in small breasts. Integration of the two surgical disciplines avoids or minimizes poor cosmetic results after wide excision. It increases the number of women who can be treated with breast-conserving surgery by allowing larger breast excisions with more acceptable cosmetic results. Oncoplastic surgery requires a multidisciplinary approach and thorough preoperative planning. It is absolutely necessary to enlist the cooperation and coordination of surgical oncology, plastic surgery, radiology, pathology, medical oncology, and radiation oncology. Oncoplastic surgery requires a philosophy that the appearance of the breast after tumor excision is important.

The objective of this study was to determine the source(s) of Salmonella contamination in ground beef. One hundred dairy cows were harvested in a U.S. commercial beef processing plant. Samples of hides, carcasses after hide removal and before exposure to antimicrobial intervention, carcasses after all antimicrobial interventions, superficial cervical lymph nodes from the chuck, trim, ground beef, and air were obtained. Ninety-six percent of the hide samples, 47% of the carcasses before intervention, 18% of the lymph nodes, 7.14% of the trim, and 1.67% of the ground beef samples were positive for Salmonella. None of the samples obtained from the carcasses after the full complement of interventions and none of the air samples were positive for Salmonella. All Salmonella-positive samples were subjected to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and eight DNA Xba I restriction patterns were identified. The majority of isolates had one of two restriction digest patterns. The strain isolated from ground beef had the same pattern as the strains isolated from hides and from carcasses immediately after hide removal. The Salmonella isolates from trim samples and lymph nodes also had the same restriction digest pattern. These results indicate that hide and lymph nodes are the most likely sources of Salmonella in ground beef. Dressing practices that effectively reduce or eliminate the transfer of bacteria from hide to carcass and elimination of lymph nodes as a component of raw ground beef should be considered as measures to reduce Salmonella contamination of ground beef. Because total elimination of lymph nodes from ground beef is not possible, other approaches should be explored. Easily accessible lymph nodes could be screened for Salmonella very early in the slaughter process. When the results are positive for Salmonella, the corresponding carcasses should be fabricated separately at the end of the production run, and the trim from these carcasses should be subjected to a treatment that destroys Salmonella.

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Beer spoilage caused by wild yeast and bacteria is a major concern to both commercial and home brewers. To address this problem, Molecular Epidemiology Inc. (MEI, Seattle, WA) has developed a beer spoilage organism detection kit consisting of an enrichment media (BSE) and a multiplex PCR DNA dipstick that simultaneously detects these organisms within 2 h following enrichment. The kit was tested by using samples obtained from breweries located in the Greater Seattle area. Samples were spiked with the target microbes, when necessary, and used for assessing the performance characteristics of the DNA dipstick assay. Microbial enumerations were performed as per the standard microbiological plating methods. The suitability of the BSE medium to support the growth of beer spoilage microbes was compared with the industry-approved NBB-C medium (Dohler, Darmstadt, Germany). Inclusivity (a panel of 50 isolates) and Exclusivity (a panel of 92 isolates) testing indicated that the dipstick assay can exclusively detect the indicated target beer spoilage microbes. When compared with the NBB-C medium (Dohler, Darmstadt, Germany) approved by the European Brewers Convention for beer spoilage organisms, the BSE medium supported faster growth of critical spoilage lactic acid bacteria such as and The beer spoilage organism detection kit has a detection limit of 10 cells/mL. The kit can be used at different stages of the brewing process, thus offering a convenient, cost effective, and faster test system for brewers interested in monitoring the quality of their product.

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Background: Dairy products are common sources of Listeria outbreaks, and early detection of the pathogen is critical to prevent outbreaks of illnesses and financial losses for dairy producers. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate Sample6 Detect HT/L for effective detection of Listeria monocytogenes and L. innocua in ice cream. Methods: Performance of the Sample6 DETECT HT/L was compared with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) Chapter 10 method for detection of Listeria spp. in ice cream using an unpaired study design. Results: R2-enriched samples tested with Sample6 Detect HT/L performed as well as the reference method at all time points tested from 15 to 24 h. R2 is a proprietary blend for use with the test kit that helps with early detection. All the dPODC values (Sample6 Detect HT/L presumptive and confirmed results) equaled zero, indicating 100% concordance between the methods. Both Sample6 Detect HT/L and FDA BAM results showed low dPODC values, with confidence intervals indicating no significant differences between Sample6 Detect HT/L and reference method results. Conclusions: Sample6 Detect HT/L is suitable to detect Listeria spp. in ice cream, even with a 12 h enrichment. Sample6 Detect HT/L demonstrated equivalent detection of L. monocytogenes and L. innocua from R2-enriched samples as expected with 15 and 18 h enrichment when compared with the 24 h FDA BAM method for L. monocytogenes. Highlights: These results indicate that Sample6 Detect HT/L, primarily developed for environmental samples, can be used to detect Listeria spp. in ice cream with less incubation time, resulting in faster detection.

The presence of microbial contaminants such as in wine can lead to undesirable wine. Therefore, monitoring for the presence of these spoilage organisms is critical for winemakers to ensure the quality of their end product. To address this problem, Molecular Epidemiology, Inc. (MEI, Seattle, WA) has developed a wine-spoilage organism detection kit consisting of a multiplex PCR DNA dipstick that simultaneously detects these organisms. Wine samples obtained from local wineries that tested negative by routine microbiological culture were spiked with the target microorganisms, while samples that were designated as spoiled by the wineries were used as-is without spiking for assessing the performance characteristics of the DNA dipstick assay. Microbial enumeration was performed following standard microbiological plating methods. Samples spiked with low cell numbers (<5 cells per 100 mL) were enriched using wine enrichment media (WSE; optional component of the kit) prior to analysis using the DNA dipstick assay. Suitability of WSE medium to support the growth of wine-spoilage microorganisms was compared with standard microbiological media. Testing of 92 diverse bacterial and yeast strains commonly found in winery and food operations and 50 various strains of spoilage organisms isolated from wineries indicated that the dipstick assay can exclusively detect the target wine-spoilage microorganisms. All target spoilage organisms in samples containing low cell numbers (<5 cells per 100 mL) were detected by dipstick assay 48 h postenrichment in WSE, except for a few strains of that required longer incubation times. The wine-spoilage organism detection kit has a detection limit of 10 cells/mL. The kit can be used at different stages of the wine-making process to detect multiple spoilage-causing microorganisms in a single assay, thus offering a convenient test system for winemakers interested in monitoring the quality of their product.