Sources of psychrophilic and psychrotolerant clostridia causing spoilage of vacuum-packed chilled meats, as determined by PCR amplification procedure.

Aims: To determine possible preslaughter and processing sources of psychrophilic and psychrotolerant clostridia causing spoilage of vacuum-packed chilled meats.

Methods And Results: Molecular methods based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of specific 16S rDNA fragments were used to detect the presence of Clostridium gasigenes, Clostridium estertheticum, Clostridium algidicarnis and Clostridium putrefaciens in a total of 357 samples collected from ten slaughter stock supply farms, slaughter stock, two lamb-processing plants, their environments, dressed carcasses and final vacuum-packed meat stored at -0.5 degrees C for 5(1/2) weeks.

Comparison of culture-dependent and independent techniques for characterisation of the microflora of peroxyacetic acid treated, vacuum-packaged beef.

The diversity of microflora associated with peroxyacetic acid (POAA) treated and untreated beef was investigated by 16S rDNA gene cloning, DGGE analysis and conventional bacterial cultivation. Following vacuum packaging, POAA treated and untreated meat samples were stored for up to 18 weeks at -1.5 degrees C.

Possible involvement of psychrotolerant Enterobacteriaceae in blown pack spoilage of vacuum-packaged raw meats.

Recent investigations of blown pack spoilage in New Zealand chilled vacuum-packaged meats have found moderate to high numbers of Enterobacteriaceae in the spoilage flora, but no clostridia, such as C. estertheticum and C. gasigenes, that are usually associated with blown pack spoilage.

Influence of peroxyacetic acid-based carcass rinse on the onset of "blown pack" spoilage in artificially inoculated vacuum-packed chilled beef.

"Blown pack" spoilage is an increasingly reported spoilage condition of vacuum-packed chilled meats. This spoilage condition is primarily caused by a psychrophilic obligately anaerobic microorganism, Clostridium estertheticum. The present study investigated whether peroxyacetic acid (POAA)-based carcass rinse can delay the onset of gas production in chilled vacuum-packed beef artificially inoculated with C.

Development of a multiplex and real time PCR assay for the specific detection of Arcobacter butzleri and Arcobacter cryaerophilus.

A new multiplex PCR and two specific TaqMan assays were developed to target the emerging pathogens A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus.