An inter-laboratory ring trial for the detection and isolation of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis from raw milk artificially contaminated with naturally infected faeces.

There is a need for standardised, robust, reproducible molecular and culture methods to achieve clarification of the inactivation of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map), the causative microbial agent of Johne's disease, in (faecally) contaminated milk and other food products such as meat. This study assessed the performance of a commercially available Map DNA extraction kit for milk Adiapure and accompanying PCR detection kit Adiavet alongside 'in-house' molecular and culture methods in an inter-laboratory ring trial using raw milk spiked with Map-infected faeces.

Food safety objectives should integrate the variability of the concentration of pathogen.

The World Trade Organization introduced the concept of appropriate level of protection (ALOP) as a public health target. For this public health objective to be interpretable by the actors in the food chain, the concept of food safety objective (FSO) was proposed by the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods and adopted later by the Codex Alimentarius Food Hygiene Committee. The way to translate an ALOP into a FSO is still in debate.

A survey of PCDD and PCDF in French long-life half-skimmed drinking milk.

A national survey was carried out in order to assess the concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in long-life half-skimmed drinking milk produced and consumed in France. 151 Samples were collected from 33 dairy establishments selected for their production amounts following a random sampling scheme. 148 of the 151 results were finally used for statistical assessment.

Virulence Heterogeneity of Listeria monocytogenes Strains From Various Sources (Food, Human, Animal) in Immunocompetent Mice and its Association With Typing Characteristics.

One hundred and twenty-five Listeria monocytogenes strains were screened for their ability to infect immunocompetent white Swiss mice. Mice were infected by intravenous injection of 2.5 × 10 to 7.