Monitoring of foodborne pathogens in raw cow milk in Tuscany

Abstract

Raw milk consumption in Italy has increased over the last few years and although raw milk is characterised by cold chain, short shelf-life and the duty of boiling before domestic consumption, it is still considered a hazard. From 2010 to 2013 a monitoring survey of raw milk sold through vending machines was carried out to investigate the occurrence of several foodborne pathogens stipulated in the national legal requirements, i.e. Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O:157 and coagulase-positive Staphylococci. A total of 127 raw milk samples were collected from 19 dairy herds in Tuscany Region, Italy. In addition, the milk samples were tested for the presence and count of Yersinia genus. Results shown that only one sample was positive for non verocytotoxin-producing E. coli O:157, whereas a total of 38 samples (29.9%) were postive for Yersinia genus; of the total 39 isolated bacteria, 23.6% were Y. enterocolitica, 2.4% Y. kristenseni and 4.7% Y. frederiksenii. None isolate was enteropathogenic; serotypes O:5 and O:8 were found in 16.6 and 13.3% of the isolates respectively, whereas none of the serotypes tested was detected in 70% of the isolates. The most probable number method revealed a count value between 0.03 and 24 MPN/mL. Based on these data a general assurance on health safety of raw milk produced and sold in Tuscany could be assessed.

Paediatric HUS Cases Related to the Consumption of Raw Milk Sold by Vending Machines in Italy: Quantitative Risk Assessment Based on Escherichia coli O157 Official Controls over 7 years

“…In Italy, the sale of raw milk by vending machines is carried out according to the general EU food regulations; moreover, at national level, a State‐Regions Agreement (Italian Ministry of Health, ) provides for further specific hygiene and microbiological criteria including the absence of E. coli O157. The compliance of milk delivered by the vending machines with such criteria is controlled by the Official Veterinary Services: the official yearly monitoring of E. coli O157 in raw milk samples collected by self‐service vending machines from 2008 to 2011 showed a prevalence of contamination up to 1.5% (Bianchi et al., ; Giacometti et al., ), whereas other studies report prevalence rates from 0 to 1.01% (Petruzzelli et al., ; Giacometti et al., ; Gasperetti et al., ); (iii) the EFSA expert opinion on the public health risks related to the consumption of raw milk concluded that there is a clear link between drinking raw milk and STEC‐induced human illness, with potentially severe health consequences in some individuals (EFSA, ).…”

Scientific Opinion on the public health risks related to the consumption of raw drinking milk

“…Other factors (sampling site, vending machine site, average daily temperature, herd size, season) were not associated with the presence of pathogens. Other surveys have reported the isolation of pathogens from raw milk sold through vending machines (Giacometti et al, 2012b;Serraino et al, 2013;Gasperetti et al, 2014). Tremonte et al (2014) analysed 30 samples collected from vending machines in southern Italy for indicator microorganisms.…”