title: Comparison of Listeria monocytogenes strain types in Irish smoked salmon and other foods.
abstract: An investigation of Listeria monocytogenes in Irish retail smoked salmon products and other unrelated food products was undertaken. Serotyping and genotyping methods were applied. Twenty-six L. monocytogenes isolates cultured from ready-to-eat smoked salmon and an additional 20 L. monocytogenes isolates from various commercially available food products (other than smoked salmon) were compared. Four serotypes, 12 ribotypes, 12 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) types and 17 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) types were identified among the 46 isolates studied. Genotyping identified a single dominant strain that accounted for 65% of those cultured from smoked salmon and this strain was present in product obtained from three out of five of the manufacturers surveyed. When compared to the food products obtained from a variety of sources, those from smoked salmon appeared to cluster as a single group. In Irish smoked salmon this strain may have adapted, and be capable of persisting in this food product. All isolates were grouped into genetic lineages based on their EcoR1 ribotypes. The attendant risk to public health following consumption of these foods is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Food Safety, School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Corcoran
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Clancy
authors.forename: Micheál
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Mahony
authors.forename: Kathie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hyland
authors.forename: Noel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shanaghy
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Whyte
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McLauchlin
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moloney
authors.forename: Séamus
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fanning
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015246:Deoxyribonuclease EcoRI / Q000378:metabolism; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005396:Fish Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D005506:Food Contamination; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005838:Genotype; D007494:Ireland; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D021521:Ribotyping; D012474:Salmon / Q000382:microbiology*; D012703:Serotyping; D014618:Vacuum
chemical_list: D015246:Deoxyribonuclease EcoRI