Investigation of the Presence of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods retailed in Kayseri and Nigde province of Turkey and to determine the molecular characterization and antibiotic resistance profiles of the detected isolates. For this purpose, 64 cigköfte without meat, 54 mayonnaise based Russian salads and 25 cheese desserts samples were collected from different sales points. Listeria monocytogenes isolation was carried out by conventional method in ready-to-eat food samples. Obtained Listeria spp. isolates were identified by species with the Microbact Listeria 12L Kit. Isolates phenotypically determined as L. monocytogenes were confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Clonal relationship of L. monocytogenes isolates were revealed by Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC) PCR, and lineage and serotype analyzes were performed by Multiplex PCR (mPCR) methods. Disc diffusion method was used to determine the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of the isolates. In the study, L. monocytogenes was isolated in eight of çiğköfte samples (12.5%) and one of Russian salad samples (1.85%). None of the cheese dessert samples were contaminated with L. monocytogenes. As a result of the ERIC PCR analysis, it was determined that the isolates separated four different type of band profiles. In the Allelespecific oligonucleotide (ASO) PCR analysis performed to determine the lineage of L. monocytogenes isolates, it was revealed that all isolates belong to the Lineage I, and serotyping with mPCR, all isolates were determined as serotype 4b. One of the eight isolates obtained in the study was resistant to ampicillin; one was resistant to meropenem, three to erythromycin and two to trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole. Within the study, it was determined that antibiotic resistant L. monocytogenes, can be distributed with ready-to-eat foods and poses serious risks in terms of public health. It is considered that food preservation principles should be taken into consideration and using food safety management systems effectively in the production process of ready-to-eat foods that are highly demanded by the society to prevent possible contaminations after production.

Keywords

• Antibiotic susceptibility
• Listeria monocytogenes
• molecular typing
• ready-to-eat foods

Tüketime Hazır Gıdalarda Listeria monocytogenes Varlığının Araştırılması

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, Kayseri ve Niğde’de perakende olarak satışa sunulan bazı tüketime hazır gıdalarda Listeria monocytogenes varlığının araştırılması, tespit edilen izolatların moleküler karakterizasyonu ve antibiyotik dirençlilik profillerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaçla farklı dönemlerde olmak üzere farklı satış noktalarından 64 etsiz çiğ köfte, 54 mayonez bazlı Rus salatası ve 25 peynir tatlısı örneği toplanmıştır. Tüketime hazır gıda numunelerinden konvansiyonel yöntemlerle Listeria monocytogenes izolasyonu gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen Listeria spp. şüpheli izolatlar Microbact Listeria 12L Kit ile tür bazında identifiye edilmiştir. Fenotipik olarak L. monocytogenes olduğu belirlenen izolatlar Polimeraz Zincir Reaksiyonu (PZR) ile doğrulanmıştır. Listeria monocytogenes izolatlarının klonal yakınlıkları Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC) PZR ile belirlenmiş, ayrıca Multipleks PZR (mPZR) yöntemi ile nesil ve serotip analizleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. İzolatların antibiyotik duyarlılık profillerinin belirlenmesinde disk difüzyon metodu kullanılmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında etsiz çiğ köfte numunelerinin sekizinden (%12.5) ve Rus salatası örneklerinin ise birinden (%1.85) L. monocytogenes izole edilmiştir. Araştırılan peynir tatlısı örneklerinin hiçbirinde L. monocytogenes tespit edilmemiştir. Yapılan ERIC PZR analizi sonucunda izolatların dört farklı tipte bant profili ortaya koydukları belirlenmiştir. L. monocytogenes izolatlarının nesillerinin belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılan Allelspesifik Oligonükleotid (ASO) PZR analizinde tüm izolatların birinci nesile ait oldukları; mPZR ile yapılan serotiplendirmede ise tüm izolatların 4b serotipi olduğu ortaya konulmuştur. Çalışma kapsamında elde edilen sekiz izolatın birinin ampisiline; birinin meropeneme, üçünün eritromisine ve ikisinin ise trimetoprim/sülfometaksazol’e dirençli oldukları belirlenmiştir. Bu çalışma ile halk sağlığı açısından ciddi riskler oluşturan ve etkin kullanılan antibiyotiklere karşı direnç gösterebilen L. monocytogenes’in tüketime hazır gıdalar aracılığıyla dağılım gösterebileceği belirlenmiştir. Toplum tarafından talep gören tüketime hazır gıdaların üretiminde, gıda güvenliği yönetim sistemlerinin etkin şekilde kullanılması ve üretim sonrasında olası kontaminasyonların önüne geçilmesi amacıyla gıda muhafaza ilkelerinin göz önünde bulundurulması gerekmektedir.

Keywords

• Antibiyotik duyarlılık
• Listeria monocytogenes
• moleküler tiplendirme
• tüketime hazır gıdalar

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