title: The Survey of Cronobacter spp. (formerly Enterbacter sakazakii) in Infant and Follow-up Powdered Formula in China in 2012.
abstract: To determine Cronobacter spp. contamination in infant and follow-up powdered formula in China.
  
  
  
  All of 2282 samples were collected from the retail markets in China from January 2012 to December 2012, and analyzed for Cronobacter spp. by the Chinese National Food Safety Standard. Characterization of the isolates was analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) with XbaI and SpeI restriction enzymes.
  
  
  
  Cronobacter spp. strains were isolated from 25 samples, and the positive rates in infant powdered formulas and follow-up powdered formulas were 0.90% (10/1011) and 1.18% (15/1271), respectively. Analysis of variable data regarding different purchasing store formats, seasonality, and production locations as well as comparison of infant versus follow-up formulas did not reveal statistically significant factors. During the sampling period, one of six surveillance zones did exhibit a statistically significant trend towards higher positive rate. PFGE characterization of Cronobacter spp. to elucidate genetic diversity revealed only three pairs of Cronobacter spp. out of 25 having the same PFGE patterns.
  
  
  
  The current investigation indicated a lower positive rate of Cronobacter spp. in the powdered formula in China. This evidence suggested contamination originating from multiple different sources during the manufacturing process.
authors.affiliation: China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100022, China.
authors.forename: Xiao Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.affiliation: China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100022, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100022, China.
authors.forename: Jiang Hui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100022, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100022, China.
authors.forename: Yun Chang
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100022, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Hunan Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changsha 410000, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Hua Yun
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Henan Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Xiu Li
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Xiao Rong
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100022, China.
authors.forename: Da Jin
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D059126:Cronobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Contamination; Cronobacter spp.; PFGE; Powdered formula