title: An assessment of the microbiological quality of liver-based pâté in England 2012-13: comparison of samples collected at retail and from catering businesses.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the microbiological quality of liver pâté. During 2012-13, a total of 870 samples, unrelated to the investigation of food-poisoning outbreaks, were collected either at retail (46%), catering (53%) or the point of manufacture (1%) and were tested using standard methods to detect Salmonella spp. or Campylobacter spp., and to enumerate for Listeria spp., including Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, coagulase-positive staphylococci including Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus spp., including Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, and aerobic colony counts (ACCs). Seventy-three percent of samples were of satisfactory microbiological quality, 18% were borderline and 9% unsatisfactory. Salmonella spp. or Campylobacter spp. was not recovered from any sample. The most common causes of unsatisfactory results were elevated ACCs (6% of the samples) and high Enterobacteriaceae counts (4% of samples). The remaining unsatisfactory results were due to elevated counts of: E. coli (three samples); B. cereus (one sample at 2·6 × 105 cfu/g); or L. monocytogenes (one sample at 2·9 × 103 cfu/g). Pâté from retail was less likely to be contaminated with L. monocytogenes than samples collected from catering and samples from supermarkets were of significantly better microbiological quality than those from catering establishments.
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Services,London NW9 5EQ,UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McLAUCHLIN
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Porton,Porton Down, Salisbury SP4 0JG,UK.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory York,National Agri-Food Innovation Campus,York, YO41 1LZ, York,UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aird
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Statistics, Modelling and Economics Department,61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ,UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charlett
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory London,Colindale, London NW9 5EQ,UK.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Elviss
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Birmingham,Good Hope Hospital,Sutton Coldfield, B75 7RR,UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fenelon
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Preston,Royal Preston Hospital,Preston PR2 9HT,UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Porton,Porton Down, Salisbury SP4 0JG,UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Willis
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit,Public Health England,Colindale, London NW9 5EQ,UK.
authors.forename: C F L
authors.initials: CFL
authors.lastname: Amar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002645:Chickens; D004372:Ducks; D004739:England; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005522:Food Services; D008099:Liver / Q000382:microbiology*; D008461:Meat Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D012147:Restaurants; D034421:Sus scrofa
keywords:  liver pâté; Foodborne illness; foodborne pathogens; indicator organisms; microbiological quality