Survey of Residential Refrigerators for the Presence of Listeria monocytogenes

Sampling strategy, occurrence and diversity of free-living protozoa in domestic refrigerators

AIMS

Evaluation of a sampling method to recover free-living protozoa (FLP) from plastic surfaces. Application of the method on different areas inside domestic refrigerators.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Plastic coupons seeded with representatives of FLP were swabbed with cotton wools. The recovery efficiency was the highest for Chilomonas paramecium, followed by Tetrahymena pyriformis and the lowest for Acanthamoeba polyphaga. From 43 refrigerators, 19 and 26 were considered FLP positive when sample cultures were incubated at 7°C and 20°C, respectively. The number of FLP-positive cultures was the highest in samples taken from vegetable trays followed by discharge gutters, whereas interior walls were rarely FLP positive. Higher numbers of taxa were observed in enrichment cultures incubated at 20°C instead of 7°C. The combination of microscopy and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis revealed that discharge gutters occasionally were contaminated with a persistent protozoan population of flagellates (Cercozoa) and amoebae (Tubulinea). The FLP-positive status of refrigerator surfaces was correlated with a high aerobic plate count.

CONCLUSIONS

The cotton wool sampling method is useful to sample FLP from plastic surfaces. FLP are part of the microbial communities in domestic refrigerators.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Knowledge on the occurrence of FLP in food-related indoor environments is scarce. For the first time, a high protozoan diversity in domestic refrigerators is described.

Occurrence of Listeria and Enterobacteriaceae in domestic refrigerators

Consumers' refrigeration practices have a significant impact on the safety and quality of foods. To determine the prevalence and the identity of microorganisms in domestic refrigerators, swab samples were taken from various locations in the refrigerators from 137 households in middle Tennessee. The swabs were inoculated into different media, and standard procedures were used to characterize the isolates. API 20E and API Listeria were used for identification of Enterobacteriaceae and Listeria spp., respectively. The Kirby-Bauer technique was used to test resistance of the isolates. Actual counts for aerobic and Enterobacteriaceae ranged from not detected to 8.53 and 8.39 log CFU per sample, respectively. Klebsiella pneumoniae (23.4%), Klebsiella oxytoca (6.8%), Klebsiella terrigena (4.0%), Enterobacter sakazakii (2.2%), and Yersinia enterocolitica (0.7%) were some of the bacteria of concern that were isolated from domestic refrigerators. Resistance to antibiotics was most common in erythromycin (39.9%), followed by ampicillin (33.8%), cefoxitin (12.8%), tetracycline (5%), streptomycin (4.0%), nalidixic acid (2.1%), kanamycin (1.4%), and colistin (0.7%). None of the isolates tested was resistant to ciprofloxacin or gentamycin. Listeria spp. were also detected in six refrigerators. These findings underline the need for greater consumer education regarding proper refrigerator cleaning and safe food handling practices.

A review of the incidence and transmission of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat products in retail and food service environments

Contamination of ready-to-eat products with Listeria monocytogenes may occur at several stages before consumption. Accessibility to the public and relatively limited control interventions at retail and food service establishments (compared with the processing sector of the food industry) and the lack of a specific regulatory framework increase the likelihood of introduction of this pathogen into some foods in these establishments. This review is a compilation of available information on the incidence and transmission of L. monocytogenes through ready-to-eat products at the retail and food service level. The potential transmission of L. monocytogenes within retail and food service operations has been indicated in epidemiological investigations and by survey data. Potential sources of the organism in these operations include the environment, food handlers, and incoming raw ingredients or processed products that have become contaminated after the lethality treatment at the manufacturing facility. L. monocytogenes may be present at retail and food service establishments in various ready-to-eat products, both prepackaged and those packaged in the store, and occasionally at high concentrations. This issue dictates the need for development and application of effective control measures, and potential control approaches are discussed here. Good manufacturing practices, appropriate cleaning, sanitation and hygiene programs, and temperature control required for prevention or inhibition of growth of the pathogen to high levels are critical for control of L. monocytogenes in the retail and food service sector. A comprehensive food safety system designed to be functional in retail and food service operations and based on the philosophy of hazard analysis and critical control point systems and a series of sound prerequisite programs can provide effective control of L. monocytogenes in these environments. However, competent delivery of food safety education and training to retail and food service managers and food handlers must be in place for successful implementation of such a system.

Consumer phase risk assessment for Listeria monocytogenes in deli meats

The foodborne disease risk associated with the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes has been the subject of recent efforts in quantitative microbial risk assessment. Building upon one of these efforts undertaken jointly by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the purpose of this work was to expand on the consumer phase of the risk assessment to focus on handling practices in the home. One-dimensional Monte Carlo simulation was used to model variability in growth and cross-contamination of L. monocytogenes during food storage and preparation of deli meats. Simulations approximated that 0.3% of the servings were contaminated with >10(4) CFU/g of L. monocytogenes at the time of consumption. The estimated mean risk associated with the consumption of deli meats for the intermediate-age population was approximately 7 deaths per 10(11) servings. Food handling in homes increased the estimated mean mortality by 10(6)-fold. Of all the home food-handling practices modeled, inadequate storage, particularly refrigeration temperatures, provided the greatest contribution to increased risk. The impact of cross-contamination in the home was considerably less. Adherence to USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service recommendations for consumer handling of ready-to-eat foods substantially reduces the risk of listeriosis.

Temperature distribution and prevalence of Listeria spp. in domestic, retail and industrial refrigerators in Greece

The present paper examined the presence of Listeria spp. in the environment of domestic, retail and industrial refrigerators. From 136 household refrigerators, 136 surface samples were taken from the walls or shelves, and 125 from cheese compartments. Only two refrigerators harboured L. monocytogenes. From 228 food store refrigerators, 335 samples were taken. Of these, 118 were in in contact with cheeses, 69 with sausages, 21 with cheese and sausages, 20 with miscellaneous products and 107 from refrigerator handles. Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes were found in 3.1% and 1.7%, of the samples respectively. Listeria spp. was not detected in any of the nine dairy plant refrigerators examined. Listeria monocytogenes and L. innocua were found in 4.5 and 36.4%, respectively, of the 22 refrigerators inside meat processing plants, with only one of 22 refrigerators handles being positive for L. monocytogenes. Temperature distribution in the refrigerators was also investigated. Fifty five per cent of the 136 domestic and 32% of the 228 retail store refrigerators had temperatures of greater than or equal to 9 degrees C. The range of refrigeration temperatures of the industrial refrigerators was 0-2 degrees C for meat plants and 2-7 degrees C for dairy plants. No correlation of any kind could be established between the prevalence of Listeria spp. and the temperature of the various refrigerators due to the low number of positive samples.

Listeria species in domestic environments

Using a direct isolation method Listeria spp. were detected in 101 (47.4%) of 213 houses investigated. L. monocytogenes was present in 45 houses (21.1%). Listeria spp. occurred at all sampling sites. Dish-cloths (37%) and surface samples round the drain in the bathroom (27.2%) were most frequently contaminated. Highest numbers (c. 10(4) c.f.u./object) were found in dish-cloths and washing-up brushes. Lower levels (up to 10(3) c.f.u./object) were obtained from kitchen sinks, refrigerator vegetable compartment samples and tooth brushes. In total, 132 isolations of Listeria spp. were made from 871 samples. L. innocua (53%) and L. monocytogenes (41%) were the predominant species in the positive samples. Other Listeria spp. were found in only 6% of the positive samples.

Assessment of alimentary exposure to Listeria monocytogenes

Survey data on the frequency of foodborne occurrence and dietary exposure to Listeria monocytogenes were used to estimate the mininmal mean per person annual rate of exposure in the United States during the late 1980s. The estimate was restricted to ready-to-eat (RTE) foods because proper cooking was assumed to be listericidal. The mean amount of each food type per L. monocytogenes occurrence was calculated in about 100 sources, and dietary intake data were used to calculate the mean number of occurrences of L. monocytogenes consumption per person per year. The mean number of occurrences consumed annually per person was determined to be 10 to 100 for RTE food values of 2 to 20% of the total dietary intake, respectively. The frequency of foodborne listeriosis (approximately 10(-5)) was consistent with the estimated exposure rate only if the susceptible population was unexpectedly small or extremely high doses were necessary for infection. Because little evidence is available to support a high rate of unreported non-severe infections, this study was concerned only with severe listeriosis cases. Published frequencies of L. monocytogenes concentrations in food were used to convert occurrences to colony forming units (CFU). Low L. monocytogenes concentrations (approximately 1 CFU/g) were too frequent to be responsible for listeriosis in susceptible subjects, would have caused listeriosis only with extremely low probability in a one-cell threshold infection model. The probability of exposure to a higher dose (> or = 10(3) CFU) was large enough to account for the observed rate of listeriosis.