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22<br />

Fleischwirtschaft <strong>international</strong> 4_<strong>2018</strong><br />

Hygiene<br />

Fig. 1: Rapid<br />

agglutination assays<br />

show a negative<br />

result, when the<br />

original color<br />

retains; a positive<br />

result is indicated<br />

by distinct color<br />

agglutination.<br />

Detection assures food safety<br />

State-of-the-art microbiological tests help to reduce the risk of human illness cases – Part 2<br />

Consumption of minimally processed<br />

RTE-meats increases the risk<br />

of human illness cases since these<br />

products generally do not receive any<br />

further treatment before consumption.<br />

All raw meat can have some<br />

level of microbial contamination<br />

present. Modern microbiological<br />

methods are able to deliver detailed<br />

insight of a microbial contamination<br />

of meat or a meat product.<br />

By Akhilesh K. Verma,<br />

A. Prajapati and<br />

Pramila Umaraw<br />

Conventional or traditional methods<br />

for detecting microorganisms<br />

in meats are based on the<br />

incorporation of samples into a<br />

nutrient medium in which microorganisms<br />

can multiply, thus providing<br />

visual confirmation of their<br />

growth. These conventional test<br />

methods are simple, easily adaptable,<br />

very practical, and generally<br />

inexpensive. More and more new<br />

technolgies find their way into labs<br />

specialized in meat testing.<br />

Immunological detection<br />

methods<br />

These techniques are based on<br />

specific body-antibody reactions.<br />

Rapid agglutination assays<br />

The test is based on visible clumps<br />

shown by organisms in presence of<br />

specific antibodies. These are rapid<br />

and easy to perform. Sensitivity and<br />

specificity may vary from organism<br />

to organism and the antibodies<br />

used which may lack specificity due<br />

to non-specific agglutination of<br />

some other organisms (CHEES-<br />

BROUGH and DONNELLY, 1996).<br />

These tests are primarily used for<br />

screening of suspected bacterial<br />

colonies after culture isolation from<br />

selective agar plates. Latex agglutination<br />

assay tests are widely used<br />

for the rapid detection of Salmonella<br />

in which a drop of colony suspension<br />

or enrichment broth is mixed<br />

with the latex reagent. The latex<br />

remains in the homogenous suspension<br />

and retains its original<br />

color in a negative test. A positive<br />

result is indicated by distinct color<br />

agglutination against an altered<br />

background (Fig. 1).<br />

Lateral flow devices<br />

Lateral flow devices (LFD) are<br />

typically comprised of a simple<br />

dipstick made of a porous membrane<br />

that contains colored latex<br />

beads or colloidal gold particles<br />

coated with detection antibodies<br />

targeted toward a specific microorganism.<br />

The particles are found<br />

on the base of the dipstick, which is<br />

put in contact with the enrichment<br />

medium (POSTHUMA-TRUMPIE et<br />

al., 2009). If the target organism is<br />

present it will bind with the colored<br />

particles. This conjugated cell/<br />

particle moves by capillary action<br />

until it finds the immobilized<br />

capture antibodies. Upon binding<br />

with these, it forms a colored line<br />

that is clearly visible in the device<br />

window, indicating a positive result<br />

(BETTS and BLACKBURN, 2009). LFD<br />

also requires previous enrichment.<br />

Results are often available within<br />

24 h. False positive results may be<br />

observed during the reaction because<br />

of denaturation or degradation<br />

of the capture antibody and it is<br />

likely that the detection antibody or<br />

the enzyme-conjugated antibody<br />

may also bind the non-specifically<br />

to denatured capture antibody. The<br />

technique is extremely simple to<br />

use and easy to interpret, requires<br />

no washing or manipulation, and<br />

can be completed within 10 min<br />

after culture enrichment (ALDUS et<br />

al., 2003).<br />

ELISA and ELFA<br />

The Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent<br />

Assay (ELISA) is a biochemical<br />

technique that combines an immunoassay<br />

with an enzymatic assay.<br />

An antibody bound to a solid matrix<br />

is used to capture the antigen from<br />

enrichment cultures and a second<br />

antibody conjugated to an enzyme is<br />

used for detection. The enzyme is<br />

capable of generating a product<br />

detectable by a change in color, or in<br />

the case of Enzyme-Linked Fluorescence<br />

Assay (ELFA) in fluorescence,<br />

which allows for indirect measurement<br />

using spectrophotometry (or<br />

fluorometry for ELFA) of the antigen<br />

present in the sample (microorganism<br />

or toxin) (COHEN and KERDAHI,<br />

1996; JASSON et al., 2010). The success<br />

of an immunoassay depends on<br />

the specificity of the antibody. The<br />

limit of detection for immunoassays<br />

is approximately 10 4 –10 5 CFU/g<br />

depending on the type of antibody<br />

and its affinity for the corresponding<br />

epitope, which means that one or<br />

two previous enrichment stages are<br />

always required (JASSON et al., 2010).<br />

High limits of sensitivity of<br />

>10 5 CFU/mL (COX, 1988), cross<br />

reactivity and changes to antigens<br />

due to acetylation and changing<br />

recognition by assay antibodies<br />

(KIM and SLAUCH, 1999) are the<br />

some disadvantages of ELISA<br />

methods.<br />

Molecular detection methods<br />

These techniques base on specific<br />

molecular reactions.<br />

DNA based methods<br />

The ability of two single stranded<br />

DNA-molecules in vitro, under the<br />

right conditions, to form double<br />

stranded DNA by specific base<br />

pairing, i.e. to hybridize, is the basis<br />

of all DNA-based detection methods<br />

(Fig. 2). While many different<br />

methods based on specific base

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