Irrigation Water Sources and Time Intervals as Variables on the Presence of Campylobacter spp. and Listeria monocytogenes on Romaine Lettuce Grown in Muck Soil.

Irrigation water has been identified as a possible source of vegetable contamination by foodborne pathogens. Risk management for pathogens such as Campylobacter spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in fields can be influenced by the source of the irrigation water and the time interval between last irrigation and harvest.

Detection and characterization of Campylobacter spp. from 40 dairy cattle herds in Quebec, Canada.

Dairy cattle are considered a Campylobacter reservoir in the epidemiology of campylobacteriosis. Currently, very little data on the prevalence of Campylobacter in dairy herds are available in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of Campylobacter associated with management practices in 40 dairy cattle herds as well as to characterize the bacterial genetic diversity.

Simultaneous recovery of bacteria and viruses from contaminated water and spinach by a filtration method.

Water and leafy vegetables eaten fresh are increasingly reported as being involved in food-borne illness cases. The pathogenic agents responsible for these infections are mainly bacteria and viruses and are present in very small quantities on the contaminated food matrices. Laboratory techniques used to isolate or detect the contaminating agent differ enormously according to the type of microorganisms, generating time and economical losses.

Comparison of commercial viral genomic extraction kits for the molecular detection of foodborne viruses.

When genetic material is extracted from viruses responsible for food illnesses, two broad types of possibilities are offered: conventional methods, which are well established but usually long and exacting to perform, or commercial kits, which are faster and easy to use but much more expensive. Thus, it is important to evaluate some performance parameters such as the analytical sensitivity to be able to select the optimal technique for each situation. The principal objective of this study was to establish and compare the analytical sensitivities of three commercial genetic material extraction methods (TRIzol reagent, FTA cards, and QIAGEN kits) along with three selected viruses, adenovirus, hepatitis A virus, and rotavirus.

Genetic detection of Campylobacter lanienae in fecal matter and stored manure from swine and dairy cattle.

Tracking sources of contamination is an issue related to food safety. In a preliminary study conducted to evaluate the distribution of thermophilic Campylobacter in the environment surrounding dairy cattle and swine production, a number of Campylobacter lanienae were directly detected by PCR. The amplicons came from dairy cows and pig fecal samples, as well as from stored manure.