Review of the controversy over whether or not Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis poses a food safety risk with pasteurised dairy products

Are we closer to understanding why viable cells of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis are still being reported in pasteurised milk?

“…Concern for human health over the presence of MAP in milk is increasing (Kuenstner et al ) and it has been linked not just to CD but as a potential causal agent of ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer (Pierce, ). The causal link to Crohn’s and other diseases has still to be conclusively proven and remains controversial (Robertson et al ).…”

“…Doubts about the accuracy and reproducibility of phage amplification assays have been expressed (Robertson et al ). Essentially, they are concerned that PFU counts may overestimate the concentration of MAP cells in a sample because of the potential presence of mycobacteria other than MAP and/or the failure of the viricide to kill all the unabsorbed D29 phage particles.…”

“…Concern for human health over the presence of MAP in milk is increasing (Kuenstner et al 2017) and it has been linked not just to CD but as a potential causal agent of ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer (Pierce, 2018). The causal link to Crohn's and other diseases has still to be conclusively proven and remains controversial (Robertson et al 2017). Kuenstner et al (2017) concluded that MAP is a zoonotic bacterium and noted that MAP present in dairy products and meat causes disease in some humans and thus poses a public health threat.…”

“…Since the first reports of the isolation of viable cells of MAP from commercial pasteurised milk in the 1990s (Grant et al 1996;Grant et al 1998), significant research has been undertaken to characterise the thermal resistance of this organism and to investigate the effect of pasteurisation on its survival. The reviews by Klijn et al (2001); Food Standards Agency (2002); Lund et al (2002); Juffs and Deeth (2007) and Robertson et al (2017) and the enhanced pasteurisation heat treatment study using pilot plant by Grant et al (2005) are particularly notable.…”

Risk Factors for the Presence of Mycobacterium avium spp. paratuberculosis in Human Intestinal Biopsies in Brazil

“…As described by Robertson, et al (2017) the relation of MAP and CD still controversial and hotly discussed, but with the modernization of molecular techniques, the DNA of MAP has been detected in tissue samples obtained from patients with CD at increasing rates, including patients with IBD and other noninflammatory bowel diseases, such as intestinal cancer, hemorroidal disease [4][5][6]. The frequent isolation of MAP in intestinal specimens from patients with CD and clinical, histological and radiological similarities, between paratuberculosis and CD, raises concerns about the zoonotic potential of MAP [7][8][9].…”