title: Survey of retail cheeses, dairy processing environments and raw milk for Escherichia coli O157:H7.
abstract: Escherichia coli was isolated from 58% (11/19) of retail soft and semi-soft cheeses tested, but E. coli O157:H7 was not detected. The presence of E. coli in retail cheeses and the lack of baseline data on the prevalence of serotype O157:H7 strains prompted us to survey ingredients and the environment in 15 cheese and dairy plants. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was not detected in any of the 1104 samples tested, including 42 raw milk samples. These results suggest that serotype O157:H7 is not prevalent within dairy product ingredients and processing environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Microbiology and Toxicology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706-1187, USA.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Ansay
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kaspar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002611:Cheese / Q000382:microbiology*; D003611:Dairy Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology*