Ann. Méd. Vét., 2007, 151 (2), pp 79-100 State of the art on the methods to monitor the microbial contamination of foodGHAFIR Y., DAUBE G.Abstract :
Foodborne disease have an important impact on the public health. In Europe and in the USA, Salmonella and Campylobacter are the two main bacterial causes because of their presence in the intestinal tract of poultry, pig and beef. For the monitoring of the bacterial contamination of food, the enumeration of certain groups or species of bacteria of
intestinal origin is an alternative to the detection of the pathogenic
microorganisms. They can be used as index indicating the possible presence of pathogenic agents having a similar ecology, or as indicators announcing
the non-observance of the good practices. The most used are the total plate counts, E. coli and the Enterobacteriaceae. During meat production, they are counted at the level of environment, along the food chain, on carcasses at the slaughterhouse, on carcasses and in meat, in plants and distribution. Various surveys are carried out by the producers of food and the authorities for the control of the auto-control, the national inspection plans or to determine the national baseline. Get the PDF Contact person : Georges.Daube@ulg.ac.be |