Evaluation of ATP bioluminescence‐based methods for hygienic assessment in fish industry

Abstract

Aims To evaluate ATP bioluminescence‐based hygiene monitoring systems under conditions relevant to fish processing environments. Methods and Results The ATP bioluminescence of fish fractions that are potentially present after insufficient cleaning of fish processing environments was determined. Different fractions and interfering substances representing the stages from slaughtering to smoking were prepared and measured using two different commercial systems (SystemSURE Plus and Clean‐Trace). ATP bioluminescence was quenched by acidic liquid smoke and by sodium chloride even at concentrations as low as 0·9% NaCl. Large variations were observed between different types of trout homogenates: the ATP bioluminescence from raw belly fat homogenate was 100–1000 times lower than for trout blood. There were about a 1000‐fold lower ATP bioluminescence in raw compared to heat‐treated fractions from trout, with the exception of blood. The bioluminescence from Listeria monocytogenes was very low. Results from fish processing plants supported the laboratory findings. Conclusions The output from ATP‐monitoring instruments depends on the nature of fish soil present, as well as the presence of sodium chloride and low pH. This may lead to considerable under‐ or overestimation of the level of organic soil. Significance and Impact of the Study ATP bioluminescence instruments are widely used by the fish industry for monitoring hygiene. The monitoring method will only give valuable information about the hygiene if critical limits are set after a validation period, distinguishing between areas with different types of soil and between different hygiene zones.

Applications of bioluminescence in biotechnology and beyond

“…different lines of production including different fish types such as trout and cod, different types of meat such as protein-rich loin meat or fat-rich belly meat and different levels of processing such as slaughtered or cooked products, and the results were compared against conventional culture and plating techniques. 221 It was established that it is essential to set up critical limits after a period of validation and calibration that are specific to each processing plant, type of ATP-bioluminescence kit used, specific areas, types of fish and fish meat and different hygiene zones, to obtain more robust, consistent and meaningful results. The dairy industry also benefits greatly from ATP bioluminescence assays as these are used to determine the quality of milk by selectively measuring the ATP from somatic cells and milk spoilage by determining ATP levels from bacteria and other microorganisms both before and after UHT treatment to estimate shelf life.…”

Oxygen Sensor-Based Respirometry and the Landscape of Microbial Testing Methods as Applicable to Food and Beverage Matrices

“…The effects of various interfering compounds associated with fish processing on ATP BL were investigated with two commercial kits [19]. NaCl and artificial acidic liquid smoke additives had the highest rates of BL quenching and RLU values of the same sample varied between kits.…”

“…High-protein and high-fat fish samples also showed large variations in ATP BL, as the cells proved to be difficult to lyse. The different stages of fish processing and possibly other food processing plants would therefore require different acceptable levels of RLUs to ensure proper hygiene and subsequent food safety [19]. With the increase in the complexity of samples, there is a decrease in ATP BL, and additional sample pre-treatment is required, which is not provided by most of the available kits.…”

Electrochemical Biosensors Based on Membrane-Bound Enzymes in Biomimetic Configurations

“…However, a very interesting transmembrane enzyme for biosensing is ATP-synthase or ATPase. The measurement of adenosin triphosphate (ATP) concentration is of great interest for studying cell metabolism [92] and for the detection of microbial contamination on surfaces [93]. In order to develop a sensitive and versatile biosensor for ATP detection, the ATPase from Escherichia coli was reconstituted on a floating phospholipid bilayer over a gold electrode modified with a 4-APh SAM ( Figure 5).…”