餐饮厨房中单增李斯特菌污染的分布特征及风险分析

为了解餐饮厨房中自制即食食品单增李斯特菌污染状况及厨房内各媒介单增李斯特菌污染的分布特征,并据此分析餐饮厨房中导致即食食品发生单增李斯特菌污染的可能高风险点,在我国3个省份的29个餐饮厨房中采集环境样本及厨房自制餐饮即食食品1 455份进行单增李斯特菌检验。检测结果进行统计学分析,探寻餐饮厨房自制即食食品污染与环境暴露之间的关系。结果显示:餐饮厨房中单增李斯特菌的污染广泛存在,自制即食食品、食品原料与环境样品中单增李斯特菌的检出无差异。针对单增李斯特菌的监测,应关注餐饮环节的污染,凉菜间的冰箱可能成为导致餐饮厨房自制即食食品被单增李斯特菌污染的危险因素。     

即食熟肉制品中主要致病菌的半定量风险评估

按照CAC推荐的致病菌风险评估步骤,利用Risk Ranger软件对即食熟肉制品中致病菌进行半定量风险评估和风险分级。结果显示,即食熟肉制品中检出的致病菌主要为金黄色葡萄球菌、单增李斯特菌、沙门氏菌及蜡样芽胞杆菌,其风险评分分别为42、44、38、40,均为中度风险,单增李斯特菌的风险较高。通过对即食熟肉制品加工后期染菌途径的有效控制及食用前轻微加热处理,可有效降低单增李斯特菌的风险评分,预计每年患病人数可分别降低70%、50%,2种措施联合实施则可以降低85%。     

单增李斯特菌耐药外排泵研究进展

单增李斯特菌是一种重要的人兽共患食源性胞内致病菌,广泛存在于自然环境中且易污染动物性食品,人及动物感染后可引起严重的李斯特菌病,死亡率高达30%。单增李斯特菌通常对多种药物敏感,然而,因不合理使用抗菌药或消毒剂形成的选择压力导致李斯特菌多重耐药情况的报道日渐增多。外排泵蛋白是细菌中一类重要的蛋白,可参与机体多种生物学过程,包括影响细菌对抗生素敏感性、促进有毒化合物泵出、影响细菌毒力等。本文综述了近年来关于单增李斯特菌耐药外排泵的功能及调控机制的研究进展,为深入理解李斯特菌耐药等环境适应机制及有效控制该病原污染传播和筛选抗感染药物新靶点提供理论基础。     

应用乳酸菌生物保护剂控制肉制品中单增李斯特菌的研究进展

肉制品营养丰富,极易被微生物污染,单增李斯特菌是污染肉制品主要病原菌之一。乳酸菌做为生物保护剂已经被广泛应用于食品中控制单增李斯特菌。本文首先分析了我国肉制品中单增李斯特菌的污染状况,总结了乳酸菌应用于肉制品安全控制的概况;然后进一步详细介绍了乳酸菌对单增李斯特菌的抑菌机理,着重探讨了乳酸菌对单增李斯特菌致病能力(生长、抗性和毒性)的影响;文章最后指出了乳酸菌在食品应用中存在的问题,并对未来的研究方向提供了建议,以期为乳酸菌在食品安全控制中的应用提供参考。     

环介导等温扩增技术快速检测肉中单增李斯特菌

通过建立的环介导恒温扩增（Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification,LAMP）方法以达到肉中单增李斯特菌快速、灵敏的检出。以特异性的hlyA毒力基因作为靶基因,与6株非单增李斯特菌进行特异性试验,同时对不同培养浓度的单增李斯特菌进行了LAMP和PCR方法的灵敏度比较,进而应用LAMP法检测人工污染肉中的单增李斯特菌。结果表明：纯培养物中单增李斯特菌LAMP检出限为8.8×100CFU/mL,其灵敏度比普通PCR高100倍;在人工污染肉中单增李斯特菌的检出限为8.8×101CFU/mL,在1h内即可完成扩增反应。LAMP方法具备快速、特异、简单、灵敏度高等优势,在食品基质中单增李斯特菌的检测方面具有较好的应用前景。     

单增李斯特菌生物膜形成调控机制的研究进展

单增李斯特菌是一种重要的食源性病原菌。单增李斯特菌的分布和存活与其形成生物膜的能力有关,生物膜对逆性环境有抵抗力,细菌会从生物膜中分离导致食品持续性的污染。生物膜的形成、成熟和结构取决于多种外部和内部因素,并且多种调控机制起着重要作用。文中旨在阐述单增李斯特菌生物膜形成过程中的调控机制(包括胞内作用、胞间作用和种间作用),以控制食品加工环境中致病性生物膜的形成,从而为食品安全提供新的干预策略。     

荧光重组酶介导等温扩增检测食品中单增李斯特菌

【背景】单增李斯特菌为肉类及乳制品中常见的食源性致病菌,传统的培养法检测无法满足口岸大批量食品的快速检测要求,建立简便、灵敏、快速及现场可操作的技术至关重要。【目的】建立快速简便的荧光重组酶介导等温扩增(Recombinase-Aided Amplification,RAA)法检测单增李斯特菌,以适应口岸快速通关及监管的实际需求。【方法】根据单增李斯特菌hlyA基因保守区设计特异性引物、探针,通过引物两两组合结合探针筛选出扩增效率及灵敏度最佳的引物组合,优化反应温度及引物探针浓度,确定最佳反应条件。将建立的荧光RAA法应用于食品基质及实际样品检测中,同时与国标GB 4789.30-2016进行比对验证。【结果】单增李斯特菌荧光RAA最佳反应温度为42℃,最佳引物、探针终浓度均为400 nmol/L。建立的荧光RAA法特异性强,纯菌灵敏度达到3×102 CFU/mL。加标食品基质牛肉、大西洋鲑鱼及再制干酪LB2增菌只需4 h,即可检测原始浓度分别达到0.3、3、30 CFU/mL的单增李斯特菌。荧光RAA法只需5 min即可观察结果,20-30 min完成扩增,速度及灵敏度明显高于国标法...     

单增李斯特菌胎盘感染的体内外模型研究进展

单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌（Listeria monocytogenes）是重要的食源性致病菌,能引发人类的李斯特菌病,是全球公共卫生问题之一。该菌易感染孕妇,引起胎儿和新生儿的侵袭性李斯特菌病,严重威胁母婴健康。因此,建立有效的单增李斯特菌感染胎盘体内外模型,解析和探究单增李斯特菌经胎盘感染机制,是预防和控制单增李斯特菌感染母婴的关键所在。本文综述了可用于研究单增李斯特菌母婴感染的体内外胎盘模型,总结和讨论了各类模型的优势和局限性;并着重分析了体外三维胎盘屏障模型在单增李斯特菌感染方面的研究进展和未来研究方向。以期为深入解析该菌经胎盘感染的途径、发病机制提供支持,并为预防和控制母婴李斯特菌病提供科学参考。     

免疫磁珠富集技术联合选择性培养基快速检测单增李斯特菌

单增李斯特菌是一种危害极大的食源性致病菌,建立快速及特异的检测方法对于食品安全监控尤为重要。文中联合免疫磁珠与选择性培养基对不同浓度(101~105CFU/mL)单增李斯特菌进行检测,并对3种李斯特菌、金黄色葡萄球菌及副溶血弧菌进行交叉试验;同时模拟食物污染,探索免疫磁珠-平板法检测样品的检测限以及该方法的最快检测时间。结果显示特异性免疫磁珠联合选择性平板法可检出浓度为103CFU/mL及以上的单增李斯特菌;牛奶样品仅需6 h增菌能被检出,检测限为0.7 CFU/mL。联合使用免疫磁珠富集技术与选择性培养基,能在30 h内完成对牛奶样品的检测,较国标法减少38 h以上,且具有同等的灵敏度。     

食品中单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌的测量不确定度评定

依据GB 4789.30—2016《食品安全国家标准食品微生物学检验单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌检验》第二法平板计数法和JJF 1059.1—2012《测量不确定度评定与表示》,对单增李斯特氏菌平板计数法测量不确定度的来源进行分析,以建立食品中单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌平板计数法的测量不确定度评定方法。结果发现:通过建立数学模型T=AB/Cd,分析不确定度来自样品制备、样品稀释及重复测量的过程,样品的存储采集、样品的均质、培养基配制的时间、培养基灭菌温度、培养箱温度及培养时间对总不确定度的贡献较小。单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌平板计数法的检测结果为(2.9±1.2)×10~6CFU/g,对同一样品测定10次的扩展不确定度为1.2×10~6。     

Quantitative risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods: the FAO/WHO approach

Quantitative microbiological risk assessment is a very new and unique scientific approach able to link, for the first time, data from food (in the farm-to-fork continuum) and the various data on human disease to provide a clear estimation of the impact of contaminated food on human public health. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have recently launched risk assessment studies of a number of pathogen-food commodity combinations (Salmonella in eggs and in broiler chickens, Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods, Campylobacter in broiler chickens, Vibrio in seafood) to be used to lower the risk associated with these food-borne diseases and ensure fair practices in the international trade of food. The FAO/WHO Listeria risk assessment was undertaken in part to determine how previously developed risk assessments done at the national level could be adapted or expanded to address concerns related to L. monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods at an international level. In addition, after initiation of the risk assessment, the risk assessors were asked by the Codex Committee on Food to consider three specific questions related to ready-to-eat foods in general, which are: (1). estimate the risk for consumers in different susceptible populations groups (elderly, infants, pregnant women and immunocompromised patients) relative to the general population; (2). estimate the risk for L. monocytogenes in foods that support growth and foods that do not support growth under specific storage and shelf-life conditions; (3). estimate the risk from L. monocytogenes in food when the number of organisms ranges from absence in 25 g to 1000 colonies forming units per gram or milliliter, or does not exceed specified levels at the point of consumption. To achieve these goals, new dose-response relationships and exposure assessments for ready-to-eat foods were developed. Preliminary data indicate that eliminating the higher dose levels at the time of consumption has a large impact on the number of predicted cases.     

Prevalence and lineages of Listeria monocytogenes in Chinese food products

AIMS: This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence and lineages of Listeria monocytogenes in different kinds of food products in local Chinese markets. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 2686 food samples and 645 water samples were collected and L. monocytogenes was isolated from 2.28% (76 of 3331) of all samples. The prevalence of L. monocytogenes (14 of 290, 4.83%) in raw meat products was significantly higher than that in other raw food products (P < 0.05). Among 844 ready-to-eat (RTE) food samples, 21 samples were positive for L. monocytogenes. RTE packaged food products from two supermarkets had a prevalence ranging from 0.00% to 25.00%. The prevalence of L. monocytogenes in meat products of freshly slaughtered hogs was 0.95% (four of 420), significantly lower than that in raw meat products in the retail markets (P < 0.05). Ten isolates were recovered from 645 water samples, which were collected after hands washing by shopkeepers or waiters. A total of 38 isolates were randomly selected for lineage classification based on the nucleotide variation of actA gene. Eighty percentage of isolates from RTE food products belonged to Lineage II while only 20% belonged to Lineage I. CONCLUSIONS: Food products in Chinese markets are contaminated with L. monocytogenes. Raw meat products have the highest contamination rates among all the raw food samples. RTE food products are more likely to be contaminated with Lineage II strains. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The data presented here show the main contamination sources of L. monocytogenes in Chinese food products.     

Occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods from supermarkets in Southern Italy

The study provides data on the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods from supermarkets in Southern Italy. The pathogen was detected in 105/1045 (10%) RTE food samples. In particular, it was highlighted in 4/392 (1%) pastries, 23/112 (20.5%) vacuum-packaged sliced salami samples, 2/108 (1.9%) cream cheese samples, 31/115 (27%) mayonnaise based deli salads and 45/132 (34.1%) smoked salmon samples. The mozzarella samples were L. monocytogenes negative. Given the considerable public health implications, the study confirms that surveillance of listeriosis in Europe should be improved and coordinated between European Union Member States in order to better estimate the burden of disease and to prevent foodborne outbreaks, assessing the human health risk arising from RTE foods.     

Prevalence and level of Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria sp. in ready-to-eat minimally processed and refrigerated vegetables

Minimally processed and refrigerated vegetables can be contaminated with Listeria species bacteria including Listeria monocytogenes due to extensive handling during processing or by cross contamination from the processing environment. The objective of this study was to examine the microbiological quality of ready-to-eat minimally processed and refrigerated vegetables from supermarkets in Osijek, Croatia. 100 samples of ready-to-eat vegetables collected from different supermarkets in Osijek, Croatia, were analyzed for presence of Listeria species and Listeria monocytogenes. The collected samples were cut iceberg lettuces (24 samples), other leafy vegetables (11 samples), delicatessen salads (23 samples), cabbage salads (19 samples), salads from mixed (17 samples) and root vegetables (6 samples). Listeria species was found in 20 samples (20 %) and Listeria monocytogenes was detected in only 1 sample (1 %) of cut red cabbage (less than 100 CFU/g). According to Croatian and EU microbiological criteria these results are satisfactory. However, the presence of Listeria species and Listeria monocytogenes indicates poor hygiene quality. The study showed that these products are often improperly labeled, since 24 % of analyzed samples lacked information about shelf life, and 60 % of samples lacked information about storage conditions. With regard to these facts, cold chain abruption with extended use after expiration date is a probable scenario. Therefore, the microbiological risk for consumers of ready-to-eat minimally processed and refrigerated vegetables is not completely eliminated.     

Estimation of microbial contamination of food from prevalence and concentration data: application to Listeria monocytogenes in fresh vegetables

A normal distribution and a mixture model of two normal distributions in a Bayesian approach using prevalence and concentration data were used to establish the distribution of contamination of the food-borne pathogenic bacteria Listeria monocytogenes in unprocessed and minimally processed fresh vegetables. A total of 165 prevalence studies, including 15 studies with concentration data, were taken from the scientific literature and from technical reports and used for statistical analysis. The predicted mean of the normal distribution of the logarithms of viable L. monocytogenes per gram of fresh vegetables was -2.63 log viable L. monocytogenes organisms/g, and its standard deviation was 1.48 log viable L. monocytogenes organisms/g. These values were determined by considering one contaminated sample in prevalence studies in which samples are in fact negative. This deliberate overestimation is necessary to complete calculations. With the mixture model, the predicted mean of the distribution of the logarithm of viable L. monocytogenes per gram of fresh vegetables was -3.38 log viable L. monocytogenes organisms/g and its standard deviation was 1.46 log viable L. monocytogenes organisms/g. The probabilities of fresh unprocessed and minimally processed vegetables being contaminated with concentrations higher than 1, 2, and 3 log viable L. monocytogenes organisms/g were 1.44, 0.63, and 0.17%, respectively. Introducing a sensitivity rate of 80 or 95% in the mixture model had a small effect on the estimation of the contamination. In contrast, introducing a low sensitivity rate (40%) resulted in marked differences, especially for high percentiles. There was a significantly lower estimation of contamination in the papers and reports of 2000 to 2005 than in those of 1988 to 1999 and a lower estimation of contamination of leafy salads than that of sprouts and other vegetables. The interest of the mixture model for the estimation of microbial contamination is discussed.     

Biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes on fresh-cut produce by treatment with lytic bacteriophages and a bacteriocin

The fresh-cut produce industry has been the fastest-growing portion of the food retail market during the past 10 years, providing consumers with convenient and nutritious food. However, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables raise food safety concerns, because exposed tissue may be colonized more easily by pathogenic bacteria than intact produce. This is due to the higher availability of nutrients on cut surfaces and the greater potential for contamination because of the increased amount of handling. We found that applied Listeria monocytogenes populations survived and increased only slightly on fresh-cut Red Delicious apples stored at 10 degrees C but increased significantly on fresh-cut honeydew melons stored at 10 degrees C over 7 days. In addition, we examined the effect of lytic, L. monocytogenes-specific phages via two phage application methods, spraying and pipetting, on L. monocytogenes populations in artificially contaminated fresh-cut melons and apples. The phage mixture reduced L. monocytogenes populations by 2.0 to 4.6 log units over the control on honeydew melons. On apples, the reduction was below 0.4 log units. In combination with nisin (a bacteriocin), the phage mixture reduced L. monocytogenes populations by up to 5.7 log units on honeydew melon slices and by up to 2.3 log units on apple slices compared to the control. Nisin alone reduced L. monocytogenes populations by up to 3.2 log units on honeydew melon slices and by up to 2.0 log units on apple slices compared to the control. The phage titer was stable on melon slices, but declined rapidly on apple slices. The spray application of the phage and phage plus nisin reduced the bacterial numbers at least as much as the pipette application. The effectiveness of the phage treatment also depended on the initial concentration of L. monocytogenes.     

Variation in Listeria monocytogenes dose responses in relation to subtypes encoding a full-length or truncated internalin A

Internalin A (InlA; encoded by inlA) facilitates the crossing of the intestinal barrier by Listeria monocytogenes. Mutations leading to a premature stop codon (PMSC) in inlA and thus attenuated mammalian virulence have been reported. We recently characterized 502 L. monocytogenes food isolates from a retail survey and 507 human clinical isolates from multiple U.S. states with respect to the presence/absence of inlA mutations. The objective of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that dose responses for human listeriosis vary between L. monocytogenes strains with and those without a PMSC in inlA. Subtype-specific prevalence and concentration distributions in food, along with epidemiologic and consumption data, were input into established dose-response models to generate an r value (probability of a cell causing illness). Under the conservative assumption that L. monocytogenes levels at retail represent levels consumed, mean log(10) r values were -8.1 and -10.7 for L. monocytogenes subtypes with genes encoding a full-length and a truncated InlA, respectively. L. monocytogenes carrying a 5' frameshift mutation in a homopolymeric tract showed a mean log(10) r value of -12.1. Confidence intervals for the r values and their differences varied depending on subtypes. When the increase in concentration of L. monocytogenes subtypes between retail and consumption was considered, mean log(10) r values were reduced to -10.4, -13.8, and -12.8 for the subtypes with genes encoding a full-length InlA, for the subtypes carrying a PMSC in inlA, and for all L. monocytogenes isolates regardless of subtype, respectively. Our study provides further quantitative evidence that L. monocytogenes subtypes vary in abilities and relative likelihoods of causing human disease, which were mechanistically related to defined genetic markers.     

Probabilistic modeling approach for evaluating the compliance of ready-to-eat foods with new European Union safety criteria for Listeria monocytogenes

Among the new microbiological criteria that have been incorporated in EU Regulation 2073/2005, of particular interest are those concerning Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to eat (RTE) foods, because for certain food categories, they no longer require zero tolerance but rather specify a maximum allowable concentration of 100 CFU/g or ml. This study presents a probabilistic modeling approach for evaluating the compliance of RTE sliced meat products with the new safety criteria for L. monocytogenes. The approach was based on the combined use of (i) growth/no growth boundary models, (ii) kinetic growth models, (iii) product characteristics data (pH, a(w), shelf life) collected from 160 meat products from the Hellenic retail market, and (iv) storage temperature data recorded from 50 retail stores in Greece. This study shows that probabilistic analysis of the above components using Monte Carlo simulation, which takes into account the variability of factors affecting microbial growth, can lead to a realistic estimation of the behavior of L. monocytogenes throughout the food supply chain, and the quantitative output generated can be further used by food managers as a decision-making tool regarding the design or modification of a product's formulation or its "use-by" date in order to ensure its compliance with the new safety criteria. The study also argues that compliance of RTE foods with the new safety criteria should not be considered a parameter with a discrete and binary outcome because it depends on factors such as product characteristics, storage temperature, and initial contamination level, which display considerable variability even among different packages of the same RTE product. Rather, compliance should be expressed and therefore regulated in a more probabilistic fashion.     

The epidemiology of human listeriosis

Listeriosis is a serious invasive disease that primarily afflicts pregnant women, neonates and immunocompromised adults. The causative organism, Listeria monocytogenes, is primarily transmitted to humans through contaminated foods. Outbreaks of listeriosis have been reported in North America, Europe and Japan. Soft cheeses made from raw milk and ready-to-eat meats are high risk foods for susceptible individuals. Efforts by food processors and food regulatory agencies to aggressively control L. monocytogenes in the high risk foods have resulted in significant decreases in the incidence of sporadic listeriosis.