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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #85907
Title: RAPID DETECTION OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES IN MECHANICALLY SEPARATED TURKEY MEAT

Author
item RAMOS, A - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item Wesley, Irene
item DICKSON, J - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item HARMON, K - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Food Safety Consortium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/14/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the level of Listeria spp., especially Listeria monocytogenes, in mechanically separated turkey (MST) meat. During two trials (n=54 samples), Listeria spp. were selected by using two enrichments (University of Vermont-modified I and II) (UVM) and plating to selective Palcam agar base. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to confirm Listeria isolations. The specificity of the multiplex PCR assay was evaluated with reference strains of Listeria from the National Animal Disease Center culture collection. Listeria spp. yield a single 938-bp product while L. monocytogenes yields the 938-bp product along with a 174-bp fragment. Results from Trial I and II indicated L. monocytogenes could not be detected by PCR in the UVM enrichment due perhaps to PCR inhibitors present in poultry fats and muscle myoglobin. However, the multiplex PCR performed from suspect colonies grown on Palcam indicated 48 out of 54 (89%) of the MST meat harbored Listeria spp. Of those, 32 of 48 (67%) were positive for L. monocytogenes.