Microbiological hazard identification in river waters used for recreational activities.

Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and parasites can cause waterborne disease outbreaks. The study of coastal water quality contributes to identifying potential risks to human health and to improving water management practices. The Río de la Plata River, a wide estuary in South America, is used for recreational activities, as a water source for consumption and as a site for sewage discharges.

[Epidemiological study and serotyping by multiple PCR of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from food matrices in Argentina].

Listeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic foodborne pathogen. It can resist stress conditions by adapting through the production of biofilms, which represents a serious problem for the food industry. It is classified into 14 serotypes, although only four (1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c, and 4b) account for 89.

Combination of organic acids and low-dose gamma irradiation as antimicrobial treatment to inactivate Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli inoculated in beef trimmings: Lack of benefits in relation to single treatments.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of lactic acid (LA), caprylic acid (CA), high- (HDI) and low- (LDI) dose gamma irradiation and LDI combined with LA or CA on the inactivation of a pool of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains inoculated on beef trimmings. The three most efficacious treatments were selected to study their effect on meat quality parameters and sensory attributes. The inoculum included five native STEC serogroups (O26, O103, O111, O145 and O157).

Comprehensive evaluation and implementation of improvement actions in bovine abattoirs to reduce pathogens exposure.

The slaughter process plays an important role in animal welfare, meat quality, safety and public health through the meat production chain. In this study, we performed a three-stage evaluation: I) comprehensive evaluation, II) implementation of improvement actions and III) verification of the success of the actions implemented in three abattoirs from Argentina during 2016-2018. Risk was estimated using two checklists, quantified on a 1-100 scale and classified as high (1-40), moderate (41-70) and low (71-100).

Comparison of six commercial systems for the detection of non-O157 STEC in meat and vegetables.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are important pathogens transmitted by food that may cause severe illness in human beings. Thus, systems for STEC detection in food should have increasingly higher sensitivity and specificity. Here we compared six commercial systems for non-O157 STEC detection in meat and vegetables and determined their sensitivity, specificity and repeatability.