Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne pathogen.

The gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is an ubiquitous, intracellular pathogen which has been implicated within the past decade as the causative organism in several outbreaks of foodborne disease. Listeriosis, with a mortality rate of about 24%, is found mainly among pregnant women, their fetuses, and immunocompromised persons, with symptoms of abortion, neonatal death, septicemia, and meningitis. Epidemiological investigations can make use of strain-typing procedures such as DNA restriction enzyme analysis or electrophoretic enzyme typing. The organism has a multifactorial virulence system, with the thiol-activated hemolysin, listeriolysin O, being identified as playing a crucial role in the organism's ability to multiply within host phagocytic cells and to spread from cell to cell. The organism occurs widely in food, with the highest incidences being found in meat, poultry, and seafood products. Improved methods for detecting and enumerating the organism in foodstuffs are now available, including those based on the use of monoclonal antibodies, DNA probes, or the polymerase chain reaction. As knowledge of the molecular and applied biology of L. monocytogenes increases, progress can be made in the prevention and control of human infection.     

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes by Food-Borne Yeasts

Many bacteria are known to inhibit food pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes, by secreting a variety of bactericidal and bacteriostatic substances. In sharp contrast, it is unknown whether yeast has an inhibitory potential for the growth of pathogenic bacteria in food. A total of 404 yeasts were screened for inhibitory activity against five Listeria monocytogenes strains. Three hundred and four of these yeasts were isolated from smear-ripened cheeses. Most of the yeasts were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Using an agar-membrane screening assay, a fraction of approximately 4% of the 304 red smear cheese isolates clearly inhibited growth of L. monocytogenes. Furthermore, 14 out of these 304 cheese yeasts were cocultivated with L. monocytogenes WSLC 1364 on solid medium to test the antilisterial activity of yeast in direct cell contact with Listeria. All yeasts inhibited L. monocytogenes to a low degree, which is most probably due to competition for nutrients. However, one Candida intermedia strain was able to reduce the listerial cell count by 4 log units. Another four yeasts, assigned to C. intermedia (three strains) and Kluyveromyces marxianus (one strain), repressed growth of L. monocytogenes by 3 log units. Inhibition of L. monocytogenes was clearly pronounced in the cocultivation assay, which simulates the conditions and contamination rates present on smear cheese surfaces. We found no evidence that the unknown inhibitory molecule is able to diffuse through soft agar.     

Selective plating medium for quantitative recovery of food-borne Listeria monocytogenes

A new plating medium (lithium chloride-ceftazidime agar [LCA]) was designed to quantitatively recover food-borne Listeria monocytogenes in the form of large colonies while inhibiting most other food-borne microorganisms. This medium included brain heart infusion agar as the nutritive agar base and a combination of selective agents (LiCl, glycine anhydride, and ceftazidime). Comparison of LCA and lithium chloride-phenylethanol-moxalactam agar (LPM) indicated that both were equally effective for the enumeration of the cold-tolerant pathogen in artificially and naturally contaminated foods. However, LCA was more effective than LPM in the recovery of sublethally heat-injured cells. Moreover, Listeria colonies on LCA exhibited a more distinct bluish hue than those on LPM when viewed by the Henry oblique transillumination technique.     

Inhibition of macrophage-mediated antigen presentation by hemolysin-producing Listeria monocytogenes

T lymphocytes and macrophages from Listeria-infected mice were used to evaluate the processing and presentation of live Listeria monocytogenes in vitro. Antigen presentation to T cells was quantitated by interleukin-2 production. In contrast to inert antigens such as heat-killed Listeria, live bacteria were processed and presented poorly. To evaluate the role of hemolysin (Hly), we used isogenic pairs of Hly+ and Hly- Listeria as antigens. In contrast to live Hly- bacteria, which were presented as well as heat-killed Listeria, live Hly+ bacteria were presented poorly. Hly+ bacteria also inhibited the presentation of heat-killed Listeria. This effect was apparent with as few as 10 bacteria/macrophage and was not due to loss of macrophage viability or decreased Ia expression after exposure to the live bacteria. With respect to murine listeriosis, the LD50 values for the Hly- strains were at least 1000 times higher than those for the Hly+ strains. These results suggest that the ability of Hly+ bacteria to inhibit antigen processing and presentation may be an important determining factor in Listeria infection and immunity.     

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua by hexanoic and octanoic acids

Hexanoic acid and octanoic acid inhibited growth of 10 strains of Listeria monocytogenes and two strains of L. innocua at pH 5·0 and pH 5·5 and 20°C. Octanoic acid was more inhibitory than hexanoic acid and both were more inhibitory at pH 5·0 than at pH 5·5. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were comparable with the concentrations of these acids that have been reported in Danish Blue cheese, where they were probably formed by the metabolism of Penicillium roquefortii . Thus hexanoic and octanoic acids may contribute to the inhibition of listerias in some cheeses.     

Restriction enzyme analysis of Listeria monocytogenes strains associated with food-borne epidemics

Listeria monocytogenes (serotype 4b) has caused four major food-borne epidemics in North America. In this study, L. monocytogenes isolates from the Nova Scotia (Canada), Boston (Mass.), and Los Angeles (Calif.) outbreaks were examined by restriction enzyme analysis with the endonuclease HhaI. Human isolates (n = 32) from the 1981 Canadian outbreak were compared with a strain recovered from coleslaw, which was epidemiologically incriminated as the vehicle of infection. After HhaI digestion, 29 of 32 isolates exhibited the restriction enzyme pattern of the reference coleslaw isolate. The restriction enzyme patterns of the nine clinical isolates from the 1983 Massachusetts outbreak were identical to each other but differed from those of raw milk isolates recovered from sources supplying the pasteurizer. Isolates (n = 48) from the 1985 California outbreak were evaluated. The restriction enzyme patterns of the L. monocytogenes isolates from humans and from the suspect cheese samples were identical to those of four of five cheese factory environmental isolates. Isolates from each of these outbreaks exhibited a restriction enzyme pattern that was characteristic of that outbreak. The case with which restriction enzyme analysis can be applied to all serotypes of L. monocytogenes argues for its use in the epidemiology of L. monocytogenes.     

Selective plating medium for quantitative recovery of food-borne Listeria monocytogenes.

A new plating medium (lithium chloride-ceftazidime agar [LCA]) was designed to quantitatively recover food-borne Listeria monocytogenes in the form of large colonies while inhibiting most other food-borne microorganisms. This medium included brain heart infusion agar as the nutritive agar base and a combination of selective agents (LiCl, glycine anhydride, and ceftazidime). Comparison of LCA and lithium chloride-phenylethanol-moxalactam agar (LPM) indicated that both were equally effective for the enumeration of the cold-tolerant pathogen in artificially and naturally contaminated foods. However, LCA was more effective than LPM in the recovery of sublethally heat-injured cells. Moreover, Listeria colonies on LCA exhibited a more distinct bluish hue than those on LPM when viewed by the Henry oblique transillumination technique.     

Growth inhibition of selected food-borne bacteria, particularly Listeria monocytogenes, by plant extracts

Six extracts from Chinese medicinal plants: Tin Men Chu, Sey Lau Pai, Siu Mao Heung, Bak Tao Yung, Kam Chin Chiu and Liao Ya, were tested for their inhibitory effect on selected food-borne bacteria by the well assay technique. Among them, Tin Men Chu, Siu Mao Heung and Sey Lau Pai inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Streptococcus faecalis, Salmonella paratyphi, Salm. enteritidis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Proteus vulgaris, Alcaligenes faecalis, and three strains of Listeria monocytogenes. Two of these three extracts, Tin Men Chu and Siu Mao Heung, suppressed the growth of L. monocytogenes Scott A in cabbage juice. This inhibition was prevented by the addition of protein but not sodium chloride. Plant extracts show potential to control the growth of food-borne bacteria.     

Growth inhibition of selected food-borne bacteria, particularly Listeria monocytogenes, by plant extracts

C hung , K.-T., T homasson , W.R. & W u -Y uan , C.D. 1990. Growth inhibition of selected food-borne bacteria, particularly Listeria monocytogenes , by plant extracts. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 69 , 498–503.
Six extracts from Chinese medicinal plants: Tin Men Chu, Sey Lau Pai, Siu Mao Heung, Bak Tao Yung, Kam Chin Chiu and Liao Ya, were tested for their inhibitory effect on selected food-borne bacteria by the well assay technique. Among them, Tin Men Chu, Siu Mao Heung and Sey Lau Pai inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Streptococcus faecalis, Salmonella paratyphi, Salm. enteritidis, Enterobacter aero-genes, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Proteus vulgaris, Alcaligenes faecalis , and three strains of Listeria monocytogenes . Two of these three extracts, Tin Men Chu and Siu Mao Heung, suppressed the growth of L. monocytogenes Scott A in cabbage juice. This inhibition was prevented by the addition of protein but not sodium chloride. Plant extracts show potential to control the growth of food-borne bacteria.     

Typing of food-borne Listeria monocytogenes by the optimized repetitive extragenic palindrome-based polymerase chain reaction

The repetitive extragenic palindrome-based polymerase chain reaction was optimized for typing Listeria monocytogenes by 1) using the QlAamp method to increase the reproducibility of DNA isolation, 2) running PCR with three different DNA concentrations in parallel, 3) using antibody-protected therrnostable DNA polymerase to reduce non-specific priming, and 4) using an improved temperature programme to increase the amplification yield. When applied to 42 L. monocytogenes strains isolated from food in the Czech and Slovak republics during 1999-2000, profiles of 7-15 DNA fragments of 330-3,310 bp were amplified. Based on REP-profiles, strains (serotypes 1/2 and 4) could be divided into 12 groups.     

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes by fatty acids and monoglycerides.

Fatty acids and monoglycerides were evaluated in brain heart infusion broth and in milk for antimicrobial activity against the Scott A strain of Listeria monocytogenes. C12:0, C18:3, and glyceryl monolaurate (monolaurin) had the strongest activity in brain heart infusion broth and were bactericidal at 10 to 20 micrograms/ml, whereas potassium (K)-conjugated linoleic acids and C18:2 were bactericidal at 50 to 200 micrograms/ml. C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C18:1, glyceryl monomyristate, and glyceryl monopalmitate were not inhibitory at 200 micrograms/ml. The bactericidal activity in brain heart infusion broth was higher at pH 5 than at pH 6. In whole milk and skim milk, K-conjugated linoleic acid was bacteriostatic and prolonged the lag phase especially at 4 degrees C. Monolaurin inactivated L. monocytogenes in skim milk at 4 degrees C, but was less inhibitory at 23 degrees C. Monolaurin did not inhibit L. monocytogenes in whole milk because of the higher fat content. Other fatty acids tested were not effective in whole or skim milk. Our results suggest that K-conjugated linoleic acids or monolaurin could be used as an inhibitory agent against L. monocytogenes in dairy foods.     

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes by fatty acids and monoglycerides.

Fatty acids and monoglycerides were evaluated in brain heart infusion broth and in milk for antimicrobial activity against the Scott A strain of Listeria monocytogenes. C12:0, C18:3, and glyceryl monolaurate (monolaurin) had the strongest activity in brain heart infusion broth and were bactericidal at 10 to 20 micrograms/ml, whereas potassium (K)-conjugated linoleic acids and C18:2 were bactericidal at 50 to 200 micrograms/ml. C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C18:1, glyceryl monomyristate, and glyceryl monopalmitate were not inhibitory at 200 micrograms/ml. The bactericidal activity in brain heart infusion broth was higher at pH 5 than at pH 6. In whole milk and skim milk, K-conjugated linoleic acid was bacteriostatic and prolonged the lag phase especially at 4 degrees C. Monolaurin inactivated L. monocytogenes in skim milk at 4 degrees C, but was less inhibitory at 23 degrees C. Monolaurin did not inhibit L. monocytogenes in whole milk because of the higher fat content. Other fatty acids tested were not effective in whole or skim milk. Our results suggest that K-conjugated linoleic acids or monolaurin could be used as an inhibitory agent against L. monocytogenes in dairy foods.     

Restriction enzyme analysis of Listeria monocytogenes strains associated with food-borne epidemics.

Listeria monocytogenes (serotype 4b) has caused four major food-borne epidemics in North America. In this study, L. monocytogenes isolates from the Nova Scotia (Canada), Boston (Mass.), and Los Angeles (Calif.) outbreaks were examined by restriction enzyme analysis with the endonuclease HhaI. Human isolates (n = 32) from the 1981 Canadian outbreak were compared with a strain recovered from coleslaw, which was epidemiologically incriminated as the vehicle of infection. After HhaI digestion, 29 of 32 isolates exhibited the restriction enzyme pattern of the reference coleslaw isolate. The restriction enzyme patterns of the nine clinical isolates from the 1983 Massachusetts outbreak were identical to each other but differed from those of raw milk isolates recovered from sources supplying the pasteurizer. Isolates (n = 48) from the 1985 California outbreak were evaluated. The restriction enzyme patterns of the L. monocytogenes isolates from humans and from the suspect cheese samples were identical to those of four of five cheese factory environmental isolates. Isolates from each of these outbreaks exhibited a restriction enzyme pattern that was characteristic of that outbreak. The case with which restriction enzyme analysis can be applied to all serotypes of L. monocytogenes argues for its use in the epidemiology of L. monocytogenes.     

Inactivation of adhesion and invasion of food-borne Listeria monocytogenes by bacteriocin-producing Bifidobacterium strains of human origin

Three bacteriocin-producing bifidobacterial isolates from newborns were identified as Bifidobacterium thermacidophilum (two strains) and B. thermophilum (one strain). This study was undertaken to evaluate the ability of these strains to compete with food-borne Listeria monocytogenes for adhesion and invasion sites on Caco-2 and HT-29 cells. The bifidobacteria adhered at levels ranging from 4% to 10% of the CFU added, but none of the bifidobacteria were able to invade cells. The abilities of Listeria to adhere to and to invade cells varied widely depending on the strain tested. Three groups of Listeria were identified based on invasiveness: weakly invasive, moderately invasive, and highly invasive strains. One strain from each group was tested in competition with bifidobacteria. B. thermacidophilum RBL70 was the most effective in blocking invasion of Listeria, and the decreases in invasion ranged from 38% to 90%. For all three bifidobacterial strains, contact between the cell monolayer and the bifidobacteria for 1 h before exposure to Listeria increased the degree of inhibition. Finally, visualization of competition for adhesion sites on cells by fluorescent in situ hybridization suggested that the two bacteria tended to adhere in close proximity.     

Typing of food-borne Listeria monocytogenes by polymerase chain reaction-restriction enzyme analysis and amplified fragment length polymorphism

The applicability of polymerase chain reaction-restriction enzyme analysis (PCR-REA) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) for typing of food borne Listeria monocytogenes strains was tested. A panel of 43 L. monocytogenes strains isolated from food, mostly serovars 1/2b or 1/2a, were analysed by the optimized PCR-REA oriented to inlA and inlB genes and by AFLP. By PCR-REA, five types of profiles were obtained. By AFLP, the strains were separated into 11 types and 18 subtypes forming two major clusters. PCR REA was a relatively straightforward method for typing food-borne L. monocytogenes with a moderate discrimination power. AFLP was a more complex but a highly discriminative and reproducible method.     

Comparison of three Listeria monocytogenes strains in a guinea-pig model simulating food-borne exposure

Three different Listeria monocytogenes strains, LO28 (a laboratory strain with truncated InlA), 4446 (a clinical isolate) and 7291 (a food isolate), were compared in a guinea-pig model designed to mimic food-borne exposure. The objectives were (1) to verify the applicability of the animal model for distinguishing between Listeria with different virulence properties and (2) to explore whether it was possible to reduce the required number of animals by dosing with mixed cultures instead of monocultures. Consistent with in vitro observations of infectivity in Caco-2 cells, faecal densities and presence in selected organs were considerably lower for LO28 than for the other two strains. Additionally, the animal study revealed a difference in prevalence in faeces as well as in internal organs between the clinical isolate and the food isolate, which was not reproduced in vitro . Dosage with monocultures of Listeria strains gave similar results as dosage with a mixture of the three strains; thus, the mixed infection approach was a feasible way to reduce the number of animals needed for determination of listerial virulence.     

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes by freeze-dried piscicocin CS526 fermentate in food

AIMS: The effectiveness of freeze-dried powder, fermented with bacteriocin producing Carnobacterium piscicola CS526, was evaluated for the inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes in a food model. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 10% solution of milk whey powder was fermented with a bacteriocinogenic C. piscicola CS526 Bac(+) or its nonbacteriocinogenic mutant strain CS526 Bac(-) at 30 degrees C for 12 h and freeze-dried. The freeze-dried piscicocin CS526 Bac(+) fermentate exhibited strong anti-listerial activity even at a concentration of 1% (w/v) in sterile water (pH 7), but the piscicocin CS526 Bac(-) fermentate and nonfermented whey powder had no anti-listerial activity. In the presence of 10% piscicocin CS526 Bac(+) fermentate, L. monocytogenes in ground meat rapidly decreased from 10(5) CFU g(-1) to less than the detection limit (3.0 x 10(3) CFU g(-1)) within 5 and 1 days at 4 and 12 degrees C, and was bacteriostatically inhibited for 25 and 4 days at 4 and 12 degrees C respectively. Furthermore, this inhibitory effect was enhanced at lower temperatures. CONCLUSIONS: Piscicocin CS526 Bac(+) fermentate was effective for the control of L. monocytogenes in a food model at refrigeration temperatures. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: A freeze-dried bioactive piscicocin CS526 Bac(+) powder can be a powerful tool to ensure food safety against L. monocytogenes contamination in refrigerated foods such as ready-to-eat products.     

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes growth by the lactoperoxidase-thiocyanate-H2O2 antimicrobial system

The lactoperoxidase-thiocyanate-H2O2 system (LP system), consisting of lactoperoxidase (0.37 U/ml), KSCN (0.3 mM), and H2O2 (0.3 mM), delayed but did not prevent growth of L. monocytogenes Scott A at 5, 10, 20, and 30 degrees C in broth and at 20 degrees C in milk. The net lag periods determined spectrophotometrically varied inversely with temperature and were shorter at 5 and 10 degrees C for cultures from shaken versus from statically grown inocula. Lag periods for cultures from shaken and statically grown inocula, respectively, were 73 and 98 h at 5 degrees C, 22 and 32 h at 10 degrees C, both 8.9 h at 20 degrees C, and both 2.8 h at 30 degrees C. After the lag periods, the maximum specific growth rates were similar for each of the three treatments (complete LP system, H2O2 alone, or control broth) at 5, 10, and 20 degrees C and were 0.06 to 0.08, 0.09 to 0.1, and 0.32 to 0.36/h, respectively. At 20 degrees C in sterile reconstituted skim milk, the LP system restricted growth of Scott A, with log CFU counts per ml at 0, 36, and 68 h being 5.7, 6.4 and 7.9 (versus 5.7, 9.8, and 11.2 for controls). Possible explanations for the decreased lag times observed for cultures from aerobically grown inocula are discussed.     

Inhibition of calpain blocks the phagosomal escape of Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria monocytogenes is a gram-positive facultative intracellular bacterium responsible for the food borne infection listeriosis, affecting principally the immunocompromised, the old, neonates and pregnant women. Following invasion L. monocytogenes escapes the phagosome and replicates in the cytoplasm. Phagosome escape is central to L. monocytogenes virulence and is required for initiating innate host-defence responses such as the secretion of the cytokine interleukin-1. Phagosome escape of L. monocytogenes is reported to depend upon host proteins such as γ-interferon-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase and the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. The host cytosolic cysteine protease calpain is required in the life cycle of numerous pathogens, and previous research reports an activation of calpain by L. monocytogenes infection. Thus we sought to determine whether host calpain was required for the virulence of L. monocytogenes. Treatment of macrophages with calpain inhibitors blocked escape of L. monocytogenes from the phagosome and consequently its proliferation within the cytosol. This was independent of any direct effect on the production of bacterial virulence factors or of a bactericidal effect. Furthermore, the secretion of interleukin-1β, a host cytokine whose secretion induced by L. monocytogenes depends upon phagosome escape, was also blocked by calpain inhibition. These data indicate that L. monocytogenes co-opts host calpain to facilitate its escape from the phagosome, and more generally, that calpain may represent a cellular Achilles heel exploited by pathogens.     

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes in Cooked Ham by Virulent Bacteriophages and Protective Cultures

Protective cultures can be used successfully as an additional hurdle together with phages to reduce growth of Listeria monocytogenes on sliced cooked ham. Addition of phages resulted in a rapid 10-fold reduction of L. monocytogenes. After 14 to 28 days of storage, a 100-fold reduction was observed in samples with phages and protective culture compared to results for samples with phages alone.Listeriosis in Europe has an average incidence between 2 and 10 reported cases per million population per year (7). Listeria monocytogenes is found in raw and ready-to-eat (RTE) products, poultry, seafood, and dairy products. A review of the incidence and transmission of L. monocytogenes in RTE products has been published by Lianou and Sofos (11). The USDA has implemented a “zero-tolerance” policy for L. monocytogenes in RTE products (2). In the European Union, the limit for common RTE foods is 100 CFU/g (1). Recently, Codex Alimentarius adopted new standards for L. monocytogenes in RTE foods, with a limit of 100 CFU/g in foods where L. monocytogenes cannot grow and absence in foods where the bacterium can grow. However, an alternative approach is accepted. Competent authorities may choose to establish and implement other validated limits (http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/archives.jsp?lang=en, Alinorm 09/32/REP and Alinorm 09/32/13). L. monocytogenes in cooked products is connected with cross-contamination after heat treatment (11, 12). Bacteriophages have been successfully applied to a number of food products to reduce the level of contaminating L. monocytogenes (6, 8-10, 13, 14). The effect of phages varies with the type of product and is strongly dose dependent (6, 8). Active phages can be recovered from foods after long storage, but the phage particles appear to become immobilized soon after addition to nonliquid foods and therefore, due to limited diffusion, cannot infect bacteria (8). Bacteria surviving phage treatment can later grow in the product. Additional hurdles should therefore be present to inhibit later outgrowth of L. monocytogenes.We have previously employed Lactobacillus sakei TH1 as a protective culture against L. monocytogenes (4, 5). Here we examine the combined use of phages and protective culture to reduce outgrowth of L. monocytogenes on cooked ham.Rifampin (rifampicin)-resistant mutants of L. monocytogenes 2230/92 serotype 1, implicated in a listeriosis outbreak in Norway (12), and L. monocytogenes 167 serotype 4b were grown overnight in brain heart infusion (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, MI) at 37°C without shaking and stored at 4°C for 24 h (3-5). Cells were diluted in 0.9% NaCl and plated on brain heart infusion agar with 200 μg/ml rifampin. L. sakei TH1 was grown at 30°C in MRS (de Man, Rogosa, Sharpe) broth (CM 359; Oxoid, Hampshire, England) (pH 6.2) and plated on MRS agar (5). Listex P100 phages, 2 × 10¹¹ PFU/ml, were from EBI Food Safety (Wageningen, The Netherlands).Ten-gram slices of hams with 2.3% NaCl and 0.01% disodium diphosphate (pH 6.2; a_w > 0.97), made at Nofima''s pilot plant (Aas, Norway), were inoculated with a cold-adapted 1:1 mixture of L. monocytogenes 2230/92 and 167. Bacteria were spread in 100 μl 0.9% NaCl over the 80-cm² surface area of each slice to 10³ CFU/cm² using a bent glass rod. After 1 h at 20°C, phages (5 × 10⁷ PFU/cm² in a total volume of 100 μl) were spread over the same surface. After one additional hour, 10³ CFU/cm² L. sakei TH1 in 100 μl 0.9% NaCl was added where appropriate. The slices were vacuum packed and stored at 10°C. Growth was measured before and after spiking and at 0, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days after homogenizing the slices in 100 ml 0.9% NaCl in a Stomacher homogenizer. No lactic acid bacteria were detected in uninoculated samples. Experiments were performed with three parallel samples. L. monocytogenes alone grew from 10⁴ CFU/g at the onset of the experiment to 10⁷ CFU/g the first 7 days, reached 2 × 10⁸ CFU/g after 14 days, and remained unchanged thereafter (Fig. ​(Fig.1).1). In samples with both L. monocytogenes and phages, a rapid 1-log reduction in L. monocytogenes was observed. Surviving L. monocytogenes, however, grew as well as that in the phage-free controls, reaching >10⁷ CFU/g after 14 days. In samples where both P100 phages and L. sakei TH1 were added, the same initial reduction of L. monocytogenes was observed, but the later outgrowth was reduced by the fast-growing lactic acid bacteria and the L. monocytogenes levels were 2 logs lower than those with P100 phages alone after 28 days of incubation. The phages did not influence the growth and survival of L. sakei TH1. During the 28 days of storage, the pH changed from 6.20 to 6.05 in samples with L. monocytogenes and to 6.00 in samples with both L. monocytogenes and L. sakei TH1. The results were reproduced in a separate repetition of the experiment at 10°C (not shown).Open in a separate windowFIG. 1.Inhibition of L. monocytogenes in cooked ham with bacteriophages and protective culture at 10°C. Sliced ham was inoculated with 10³ CFU/cm² (corresponding to approximately 10⁴ CFU/g) L. monocytogenes (⧫), L. monocytogenes and 5 × 10⁷ PFU/cm² P100 phages (▪), or L. monocytogenes, 5 × 10⁷ PFU/cm² P100 phages, and 10³ CFU/cm² (approximately 10⁴ CFU/g) protective-culture L. sakei TH1 (▴) and stored at 10°C. Growth of L. sakei TH1 is shown by the broken line.The effect of the protective culture was dose dependent when 10⁴ CFU/g and 10⁶ CFU/g of L. sakei TH1 were added to slices of ham (Fig. ​(Fig.2).2). L. monocytogenes alone grew to 2 × 10⁸ CFU/g after 14 days. When L. sakei TH1 was added at a low concentration (10⁴ CFU/g), L. monocytogenes grew to approximately 4 × 10⁶ CFU/g, while when L. sakei TH1 was added at a high concentration, L. monocytogenes levels were 1 to 2 logs lower. The pHs in the low- and high-inoculum hams were reduced from the initial 6.20 to 6.16 and 6.02, respectively, at day 28. For hams stored at 4°C, slow growth of L. monocytogenes occurred between days 14 and 28 from 10⁴ to 10⁵ CFU/g (P = 0.003) (Fig. ​(Fig.3).3). With phages and L. sakei TH1 added, a rapid 1-log reduction of L. monocytogenes was observed due to the phage attack, and no growth was observed during the 28-day storage period. The L. sakei TH1 strain showed a longer lag phase at this low temperature but nevertheless reached 10⁷ CFU/g at day 14 and thereby inhibited any growth of L. monocytogenes.Open in a separate windowFIG. 2.Inhibition of L. monocytogenes in cooked ham inoculated with large or small amounts of protective culture at 10°C. Sliced ham was inoculated with 10³ CFU/cm² (corresponding to approximately 10⁴ CFU/g) L. monocytogenes (⧫), L. monocytogenes and 10⁶ CFU/g (10⁵ CFU/cm²) L. sakei TH1 (▴), or L. monocytogenes and 10⁴ CFU/g (10³ CFU/cm²) L. sakei TH1 (▪) and stored at 10°C. Growth of L. sakei TH1 is shown by broken lines. The L. monocytogenes control is the same control as in Fig. ​Fig.11.Open in a separate windowFIG. 3.Inhibition of L. monocytogenes in cooked ham with bacteriophages and protective culture at 4°C. Sliced ham was inoculated with 10³ CFU/cm² (corresponding to approximately 10⁴ CFU/g) L. monocytogenes (⧫) or L. monocytogenes, 5 × 10⁷ PFU/cm² P100 phages, and 10⁴ CFU/g (10³ CFU/cm²) protective-culture, L. sakei TH1 (▴) and stored at 4°C. Growth of L. sakei TH1 is shown by the broken line.Since L. sakei TH1 grows well at low temperatures, prevents growth of L. monocytogenes, and has no negative influence on the organoleptic properties of ham (4, 5), it can successfully be employed as an additional hurdle together with phages.We here chose to perform the storage experiments under “worst-case” conditions. Generally, the contamination levels of L. monocytogenes are lower than in our setup, in the range of 10 to 100 CFU/g (see reference 11 and references therein). Since L. sakei TH1 grows well at low temperatures (Fig. ​(Fig.3),3), its selective advantage will be greater at 4°C than at abuse temperatures. From the above, it is evident that it is possible to optimize L. monocytogenes inhibition by increasing both the phage titer and the starting amount of protective culture. An enhanced effect may also be experienced by modifying phage application, e.g., by using larger liquid volumes (6, 8).Emergence of resistant L. monocytogenes may be a potential problem when treating foods with phages. No emergence of resistance has been detected after phage treatment (6, 8). Such strategies as use of phage mixtures, phage rotation schemes, and treatment of products immediately prior to packaging may reduce eventual resistance problems (8). Some L. monocytogenes strains are naturally phage resistant (6). In these cases, a protective culture still constitutes a powerful hurdle.In conclusion, we have shown here that by applying phages and protective culture as two independent hurdles, it is possible to both reduce the number of L. monocytogenes bacteria on a product and inhibit outgrowth of eventual remaining surviving cells. This is a general method that can potentially be applied to different foods where there is a potential risk for growth of L. monocytogenes, provided a suitable protective culture is available.