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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #89524
Title: PREVALENCE AND GENETIC VARIABILITY OF ARCOBACTER SPECIES IN MECHANICALLY SEPARATED TURKEY

Author
item MANKE, T - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item Wesley, Irene
item DICKSON, J - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item HARMON, K - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/13/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Arcobacter butzleri is a newly described microbe which is present in healthy livestock and also causes gastroenteritis in humans. The purpose of this study was to determine if A. butzleri is present in mechanically deboned turkey meat. Turkey samples (n=395) from processing plants in Iowa, Michigan, and Arkansas were analyzed. A. butzleri was identified in 56% of the samples as determined by nucleic acid-based methods. This study indicates the presence of Arcobacter in mechanically deboned turkey. The rapid methods used in this study will benefit the Food Safety Inspection Service in finding A. butzleri in meats. Information gained from this study will assist government agencies in screening for emerging foodborne pathogens in food.

Technical Abstract: A survey for Arcobacter spp. and A. butzleri in mechanically separated turkey was conducted during the winter of 1995, and summer and fall of 1996. Arcobacter spp. and A. butzleri were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and species-specific oligonucleotide probes, respectively. Arcobacter spp. was isolated from 77% (303 of 395) of the totally mechanically separated turkey meat samples collected with 74% (223 of 303) of the samples positive for A. butzleri. Of the 121 A. butzleri isolates tested, 86 different ERIC-PCR based DNA fingerprinting patterns were obtained indicating multiple sources of contamination.