Bacterial levels and diversity in kitchen sponges and dishwashing brushes used by consumers.

Aims: The purpose of the work was to investigate bacterial levels and diversity as well as survival of Salmonella in used dish washing sponges and brushes and identify consumer practices that can potentially explain bacterial status of these items.

Methods And Results: Used washing up utensils were collected from consumers. The bacterial numbers (TVC) were very variable with an extremely high median level (10.

Consumer practices and prevalence of Campylobacter, Salmonella and norovirus in kitchens from six European countries.

About 40% of foodborne infections are acquired in the home. The aim of the present study was to track contamination of pathogens during domestic food preparation and link the contamination to preparation practices. Research participants from 87 households in six European countries were observed and interviewed during shopping and preparation of a chicken and vegetable meal.

Dishwashing sponges and brushes: Consumer practices and bacterial growth and survival.

Sponges are frequently used in kitchens and have been shown to harbor large numbers of bacteria, occasionally also pathogens. Less is known about kitchen brushes regarding usage and presence of bacteria. In the present study, the use of sponges and brushes was studied in a survey among 9966 European consumers in ten countries, and growth and survival of bacteria in sponges and brushes were examined in laboratory experiments.

High hydrostatic pressure effects on Listeria monocytogenes and L. innocua: Evidence for variability in inactivation behaviour and in resistance to pediocin bacHA-6111-2.

The effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on the survival of 14 strains of Listeria monocytogenes from food or clinical origins, selected to represent different pheno and genotypes, was evaluated. Stationary phase cells were submitted to 300, 400 and 500 MPa at 10 °C, for 5 min. A high variability in the resistance of L.