Enteric bacteria of food ice and their survival in alcoholic beverages and soft drinks

Gaglio, Raimondo; Francesca, Nicola; Gerlando, Rosalia Di; Mahony, Jennifer; Martino, Simone De; Stucchi, Carlo; Moschetti, Giancarlo; Settanni, Luca

doi:10.1016/j.fm.2017.04.020

Cited by 44 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…On the contrary, vodka allowed the highest persistence of all four strains tested. This result is not surprising, since a similar behaviour was previously displayed by enterobacteria and attributed to the neutral pH of vodka (Gaglio et al 2017). All strains survived in peach tea, although their levels were lower than those registered in Ringer's solution (control trial).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…As previously found for enteric bacteria (Gaglio et al 2017), the three production systems (home-made, restaurant and industrial) analyzed are characterised by significantly different levels of contamination, with ice cubes collected from bars and pubs showing the highest cell densities of the strains representing risks for humans. Food ice was contaminated mainly by environmental sources, but faecal microorganisms and microorganisms transferred from greywater were also detected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…Tests were carried out recently, as reported by Gaglio et al (2017), in drink/beverage systems containing different levels of alcohol, CO 2 , pH and antibacterial ingredients. The most lethal effect on the cell viability of A. lwoffii, B. cereus, P. putida and S. haemolyticus was registered for whisky.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, a consistent production of ice cubes occurs by ice cube maker machines (self-production) and is strictly intended for direct consumption, especially in bars, pubs and restaurants (Gaglio et al 2017). Since food ice is a product obtained through the freezing of potable water, the presence of intestinal bacteria is an indicator of the hygienic status of the ice (Lateef et al 2006;Ukwo et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Nichols et al 2000;Falcao et al 2002;Gerokomou et al 2011;Noor Izani et al 2012;Awuor et al 2016;Hampikyan et al 2017). The presence of other undesired opportunistic pathogenic species is not commonly investigated, although food ice is responsible for the dissemination of clinically relevant bacteria (Gaglio et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Presence of pathogenic bacteria in ice cubes and evaluation of their survival in different systems

Settanni

Gaglio

Stucchi³

et al. 2017

Ann Microbiol

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In this study, 60 samples of ice cubes produced at different levels (domestic, restaurant and industrial facilities), within a restricted geographical area, were investigated for their general microbiological characteristics through the analysis of populations other than enteric bacteria. Total mesophilic bacteria were in the range 1.01 × 10 2 -9.55 × 10 3 , 3.12 × 10 2 -6.31 × 10 3 and 1.30 × 10 2 -3.99 × 10 3 CFU/ 100 mL of thawed ice from domestic freezer (DF), stock boxes (SB) for self-production performed with ice machines in bars and pubs, and from sales packages (SP) of industrial productions, respectively. Some DF and SP samples were negative for the presence of total psychrotrophic bacteria, showing that there are no specific microbial groups associated with ice. Pseudomonads were found in the majority of ice samples analyzed. The levels of contamination of the ice samples were significantly different among the three ice cube production levels. The samples produced at domestic level and those collected from bars and pubs were characterised by the highest cell densities. The colonies representative for the different bacterial morphologies were randomly picked up from plates, purified to homogeneity and subjected to the phenotypic and genotypic characterisation. Fifty-two strains representing 31 species of eight bacterial genera were identified, with the most numerous groups included in Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Bacillus and Acinetobacter. A consistent percentage of the microorganisms identified from ice are known agents of human infections, and their presence indicate an environmental contamination. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the ice cubes to transfer pathogenic agents to consumers, a bar consumption was simulated with different drink systems added with ice cubes artificially contaminated with the strains found at dominant levels (Acinetobacter lwoffii ICE100, Bacillus cereus ICE170, Pseudomonas putida ICE224 and Staphylococcus haemolyticus ICE182), and the results showed a consistent reduction of bacterial risk due to alcohol, CO 2 , pH and antibacterial ingredients of vodka, whisky, Martini, peach tea, tonic water and coke.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%