title: Detection of Salmonella species in foodstuffs.
abstract: Conventional methods to detect Salmonella spp. in foodstuffs may take up to 1 wk. Methods for pathogen detection are required. Real-time detection of Salmonella spp. will broaden our ability to screen large number of samples in a short time. This chapter describes a step-by-step procedure using an oligonucleotide probe that becomes fluorescent upon hybridization to the target DNA (Molecular Beacon; MB) in a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The capability of the assay to detect Salmonella species from artificially inoculated fresh- and fresh-cut produce as well as ready-to-eat meats is demonstrated. The method uses internal positive and negative controls which enable researchers to detect false-negative PCR results. The procedure uses the buffered peptone water for the enrichment of Salmonella spp. and successfully detects the pathogen at low level of contamination (2-4 cells/25 g) in <24 h.
authors.affiliation: Produce Quality and Safety Laboratory, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, USDA, Beltsville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Arvind A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Bhagwat
authors.forename: Jitu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Trina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Saúl Ruiz
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Gustavo A González
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Aguilar
mesh_terms: D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology*