Screening for Clostridium botulinum type A, B, and E in cooked chilled foods containing vegetables and raw material using polymerase chain reaction and molecular probes

• Published in: Journal of food protection Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 201 - 207
• Main Authors: BRACONNIER, Agnès, BROUSSOLLE, Véronique, PERELLE, Sylvie, FACH, Patrick, NGUYEN-THE, Christophe, CARLIN, Frédéric
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Des Moines, IA International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians 01.02.2001; International Association for Food Protection
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Chemical and Process Engineering; Clostridium botulinum - isolation & purification; Engineering Sciences; Food engineering; Food Handling; Food industries; Food microbiology; Fruit and vegetable industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic engineering; Genetic technics; Hybridization, Genetic; In vitro gene amplification. Pcr technique; Life Sciences; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Molecular Probes; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Spores, Bacterial - isolation & purification; Temperature; Vegetables - microbiology; Polymerase chain reaction; Vegetable puree; Clostridium botulinum; Cooling; Microbiological testing; Pathogenic; Clostridiaceae; Clostridiales; Bacteria; Molecular probe; Cooked food; Vegetable product
• ISSN: 0362-028X; 1944-9097
• DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X-64.2.201

A molecular method was used for the detection of Clostridium botulinum spores of type A, B, and E in commercial cooked and pasteurized vegetable purées and in the raw materials (vegetables and other ingredients). The method allowed the detection of less than 8 spores/g of product for C. botulinum type A, less than 1 spore/g for proteolytic type B, less than 21 spores/g for nonproteolytic type B, and less than 0.1 spore/g for type E. Thirty-seven samples of raw vegetables and ingredients were tested for the presence of C. botulinum type A, B, and E; 88 and 90 samples of vegetable purées were tested, respectively, for the presence of C. botulinum type A and B and for the presence of C. botulinum type E. All samples were negative, suggesting that the prevalence of C. botulinum in these vegetable purées and the raw ingredients is probably low.