title: A collaborative study to evaluate qualitatively powdered baby food validation samples artificially contaminated with Salmonella anatum.
abstract: Nineteen laboratories participated in a collaborative study to evaluate the performance of validation samples consisting of powdered infant formula and cereal-based weaning food artificially contaminated with low levels of Salmonella anatum. The Standard method BS EN ISO 6579:2002 was to be followed for the trial. Salmonella counts in each baby food were around 10 CFU/25 g (low) or 10 CFU/g (high level). Trial participants received five samples of each sample type and five blank samples. All samples contained Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Lactobacillus spp. at concentrations between 10(4) and 10(5) CFU/g as background flora. Precision data for the powdered infant formula were similar for the solid selective plating-out medium xylose-lysine-deoxycholate (XLD) and a 2nd choice of agar suitable to isolate Salmonella spp. The sensitivity was 91.3%, accordance 82.5% and concordance 83.9% for the low and 100% for the high level in all cases. For the cereal-based weaning food, the precision data for the high level were similar for XLD and the 2nd choice medium (98.8%, 97.5% and 97.5%). A slight difference was observed for the low level where XLD obtained values of 82.5%, 73.8%, 70.6% for sensitivity, accordance and concordance and the second choice medium values of 81.5%, 72.5% and 69%. The specificity, accordance and concordance of blanks for the infant formula and cereal-based weaning food were 100%.
authors.affiliation: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK. r.leuschner@csl.gov.uk
authors.forename: Renata G K
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Leuschner
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bew
authors.forename: Martin P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Boughtflower
mesh_terms: D000362:Agar / Q000737:chemistry*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000382:microbiology; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000592:standards*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food / Q000382:microbiology*; D041943:Infant Formula; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards*; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000362:Agar