Nonculturable response of animal enteropathogens in the agricultural environment and implications for food safety.
Concerns about animal enteropathogen contamination of fresh horticultural products have,increased worldwide and are mainly due to the ability of bacteria to survive under stress conditions in the agricultural environment and during raw-vegetable processing. This review challenges the idea that the viable but nonculturable phenomenon that has been proven to occur in plant-associated environments contributes to human pathogen survival and might be correlated with foodborne infection. Factors associated with the nonculturable response of bacteria in the field and during postharvest processing and distribution are discussed, specifically for the most common animal enteropathogens linked with the consumption of raw products: Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Shigella spp. The accurate detection of live bacterial populations is essential for pathogen screening in food and environmental safety control and in epidemiological analysis and may have to be considered for identification of critical control points at the time of food inspection.
Dinu
Laura-Dorina
LD
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, 4200 Highway 97 South, Summerland, British Columbia, Canada.
Delaquis
Pascal
P
Bach
Susan
S
D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000382:microbiology*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005506:Food Contamination; D005513:Food Inspection; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D050296:Microbial Viability; D011634:Public Health; D012475:Salmonella / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012760:Shigella / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification