title: Short communication: Isolation of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in raw milk and mozzarella cheese in southern Italy.
abstract: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are a significant food-borne public health hazard in Europe, where most human infections are associated with 5 serogroups (O157, O26, O103, O145, and O111). In 2015, 95 food and environmental samples were examined for the presence of Shiga toxin genes (stx1 and stx2). The STEC were isolated from 2 raw milk and 1 mozzarella cheese samples that were collected in the period between June and September. To the best of our knowledge, this finding represents the first report of STEC isolation from mozzarella cheese produced in Italy, and it suggests that both the quality of raw milk used to produce mozzarella and the thermal inactivation treatment associated with the curd-stretching step should be carefully monitored.
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata (IZS PB), Via Manfredonia 20, 71121 Foggia, Italy.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Nobili
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata (IZS PB), Via Manfredonia 20, 71121 Foggia, Italy.
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Franconieri
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata (IZS PB), Via Manfredonia 20, 71121 Foggia, Italy.
authors: M G
authors: MG
authors: Basanisi
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata (IZS PB), Via Manfredonia 20, 71121 Foggia, Italy.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: La Bella
authors: EU Reference Laboratory for E. coli, Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Tozzoli
authors: EU Reference Laboratory for E. coli, Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Caprioli
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata (IZS PB), Via Manfredonia 20, 71121 Foggia, Italy. Electronic address: giovanna.lasalandra@izspb.it.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: La Salandra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002611:Cheese; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008892:Milk; D022621:Shiga Toxin; D054323:Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D022621:Shiga Toxin
keywords: PFGE; Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli; raw milk and mozzarella cheese; real-time PCR