Elisabeth Borch - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Elisabeth Borch

Research paper thumbnail of Influence of long-chain polyphosphate and heat treatment on Clostridium cochlearium and Clostridium sporogenes isolated from processed cheese spread

Journal of Food Protection, Apr 1, 2007

The outgrowth of Clostridium spp. spores causes spoilage in processed cheese products due to gas ... more The outgrowth of Clostridium spp. spores causes spoilage in processed cheese products due to gas and off-odor formation. The present study focuses on the response of spores of Clostridium sporogenes and Clostridium cochlearium at 25 degrees C to polyphosphate, both alone and in combination with heat treatment. The two strains used were isolated from spoiled cheese spread. The addition of 1.5% polyphosphate but not 0.75% polyphosphate totally inhibited the growth of C. sporogenes SIK4.3; in contrast, 0.75% polyphosphate was sufficient to totally inhibit C. cochlearium CCUG 45978. The highest polyphosphate concentration tested (1.5%) was sporicidal for C. sporogenes SIK4.3 but not for C. cochlearium CCUG 45978. When 0.75% polyphosphate Bekaplus FS was combined with a holding time of 5 min at 98 degrees C, no survival or growth of C. sporogenes SIK4.3 was detected; however, the same effect was not achieved through heating alone or through application of polyphosphate alone. C. cochlearium CCUG 45978 was more heat tolerant, as shown by higher D-values. In conclusion, the results strongly suggest that polyphosphate Bekaplus FS has the potential to restrict the growth of C. sporogenes and C. cochlearium in cheese spread stored at ambient storage temperature. Experiments with cheese are needed in order to verify this effect.

Research paper thumbnail of Inactivation of , and in relation to membrane permeabilization and subsequent leakage of intracellular compounds due to pulsed electric field processing

Int J Food Microbiol, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Chemical, microbial and sensory changes during the anaerobic cold storage of beef inoculated with a homofermentative Lactobacillus sp. or a Leuconostoc sp

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1992

Slices of beef were inoculated with about 3.5 log cfu/cm2 of Lactobacillus sp. 93 SMRICC 235 (hom... more Slices of beef were inoculated with about 3.5 log cfu/cm2 of Lactobacillus sp. 93 SMRICC 235 (homofermentative) or Leuconostoc sp. 89 SMRICC 189 and stored in 5% CO2 + 95% N2 at 4 degrees C. The microbial, chemical (glucose, L-lactate, D-lactate, acetate, formate, ethanol, H2S) and sensory changes of the beef slices were studied. For beef inoculated with Lactobacillus sp. 93 the flavour score started to decrease when the maximum bacterial count was reached. Leuconostoc sp. 89 caused a rapid decrease in the flavour score before reaching the maximum bacterial count. Concentrations of acetate and D-lactate increased while glucose and L-lactate decreased in beef slices inoculated with Lactobacillus sp. 93. In the presence of Leuconostoc sp. 89 ethanol and D-lactate increased while glucose decreased. Lactobacillus sp. 93 formed the highest level of H2S, and a sulphurous off-odour was noted only in the presence of this strain. D-Lactate and acetate indicated high numbers of Lactobacillus sp. 93 on the meat surface, while D-lactate and ethanol indicated high numbers of Leuconostoc sp. 89. More studies are needed in order to correlate levels of D-lactate, acetate and ethanol with sensory changes.

Research paper thumbnail of Spore inactivation and quality of paprika powder heated by near-infrared radiation

Research paper thumbnail of CRAN - Company Risk Assessment Network

Research paper thumbnail of Influence of long-chain polyphosphate and heat treatment on Clostridium cochlearium and Clostridium sporogenes isolated from processed cheese spread

Journal of food protection, 2007

The outgrowth of Clostridium spp. spores causes spoilage in processed cheese products due to gas ... more The outgrowth of Clostridium spp. spores causes spoilage in processed cheese products due to gas and off-odor formation. The present study focuses on the response of spores of Clostridium sporogenes and Clostridium cochlearium at 25 degrees C to polyphosphate, both alone and in combination with heat treatment. The two strains used were isolated from spoiled cheese spread. The addition of 1.5% polyphosphate but not 0.75% polyphosphate totally inhibited the growth of C. sporogenes SIK4.3; in contrast, 0.75% polyphosphate was sufficient to totally inhibit C. cochlearium CCUG 45978. The highest polyphosphate concentration tested (1.5%) was sporicidal for C. sporogenes SIK4.3 but not for C. cochlearium CCUG 45978. When 0.75% polyphosphate Bekaplus FS was combined with a holding time of 5 min at 98 degrees C, no survival or growth of C. sporogenes SIK4.3 was detected; however, the same effect was not achieved through heating alone or through application of polyphosphate alone. C. cochlear...

Research paper thumbnail of Characterization of Clostridium spp. isolated from spoiled processed cheese products

Journal of food protection, 2006

Of 42 spoiled cheese spread products, 35 were found to harbor Clostridium spp. Typical signs of s... more Of 42 spoiled cheese spread products, 35 were found to harbor Clostridium spp. Typical signs of spoilage were gas production and off-odor. The identity was determined for about half of the isolates (n = 124) by Analytab Products (API), Biolog, the RiboPrinter System, 16S rDNA sequencing, cellular fatty acid analysis, or some combination of these. The majority of isolates were identified as Clostridium sporogenes (in 33% of products), but Clostridium cochlearium (in 12% of products) and Clostridium tyrobutyricum (in 2% of products) were also retrieved. Similarity analysis of the riboprint patterns for 21 isolates resulted in the identification of 10 ribogroups. A high degree of relatedness was observed between isolates of C. sporogenes originating from products produced 3 years apart, indicating a common and, over time, persistent source of infection. The spoilage potential of 11 well-characterized isolates and two culture collection strains was analyzed by inoculating shrimp cheese ...

Research paper thumbnail of Comparison of shelf life of vacuum-packed pork and beef

Meat Science, 2002

The relevance of the intrinsic factors of meat to the sensorial shelf life of vacuum-packed, cold... more The relevance of the intrinsic factors of meat to the sensorial shelf life of vacuum-packed, cold-stored minced pork and beef was investigated. The intrinsic factors studied were the pH and the concentrations of glycogen, glucose, glucose-6-phosphate, l-lactate and fat. The initial bacterial loading was the same on all the meat. High correlations were found between the initial values of pH, fat and l-lactate, respectively, and the rate of spoilage. Using partial least square regression, it was shown that changes in the pH and the concentrations of l-lactate and glucose-6-phosphate during storage were able to explain 68% of the variation observed in the rate of spoilage. No relationship was found between spoilage and the origin of the meat (pork or beef).

Research paper thumbnail of Bacteriological safety issues in red meat and ready-to-eat meat products, as well as control measures

Research paper thumbnail of Reduction of Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria spp. on pig carcasses by enclosure of the rectum during slaughter

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1994

By sealing off the rectum with a plastic bag immediately after it had been freed, the spread of Y... more By sealing off the rectum with a plastic bag immediately after it had been freed, the spread of Y. enterocolitica O:3/biovar 4 to pig carcasses could be considerably reduced. The organism was recovered from only 0.8% of carcasses when the plastic bag technique was employed. Y. enterocolitica O:3/biovar 4 was recovered from 10% of pig carcasses when eviscerating procedures did not include the use of the plastic bag technique. There was thus an obvious risk of the bacteria further contaminating meat cuts and other meat products. The plastic bag technique was effective both in connection with manual excision of the rectum/low throughput (90 per h), and mechanical freeing of the rectum/high slaughter rate (240 per h). L. monocytogenes was not detected in any of the samples taken from 120 pig carcasses in Norway or from 120 pig carcasses in Sweden. The plastic bag technique was used on half of these pigs. L. innocua was tested for in 120 pigs slaughtered in Sweden. The bacterium was recovered from 33% of the carcasses eviscerated without using a plastic bag, and from 10% of the carcasses in which this technique was employed. The results suggested that there were other, non-faecal, sources of contamination. Other measures in addition to the plastic bag technique are therefore required to limit the spread of Listeria spp. By incorporating the plastic bag technique into the slaughtering procedures, the meat industry would contribute to preventing the dissemination of Y. enterocolitica and other pathogens which spread via the faeces.

Research paper thumbnail of Bacterial spoilage of meat and cured meat products

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1996

The influence of environmental factors (product composition and storage conditions) on the select... more The influence of environmental factors (product composition and storage conditions) on the selection, growth rate and metabolic activity of the bacterial flora is presented for meat (pork and beef) and cooked, cured meat products. The predominant bacteria associated with spoilage of refrigerated beef and pork, are Brochothrix thermosphacta, Carnobacterium spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Shewanella putrefaciens. The main defects in meat are off-odours and off-flavours, but discolouration and gas production also occur. Bacteria associated with the spoilage of refrigerated meat products, causing defects such as sour off-flavours, discolouration, gas production, slime production and decrease in pH, consist of B. thermosphacta, Carnobacterium spp. Luctobacillus spp. Leuconostoc spp. and Weissella spp. Analysis of spoilage as measured by bacterial and chemical indicators is discussed. It is concluded that a multivariate approach based on spectra of chemical compounds, may be helpful in order to analyse spoilage, at least for spoilage caused by lactic acid bacteria. The consequences of bacteria bacteria interactions should be evaluated more.

Research paper thumbnail of Interlaboratory random amplified polymorphic DNA typing of Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. enterocolitica-like bacteria

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2003

A random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) protocol was developed for interlaboratory use to discr... more A random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) protocol was developed for interlaboratory use to discriminate food-borne Yersinia enterocolitica O:3 from other serogroups of Y. enterocolitica and from Y. enterocolitica-like species. Factors that were studied regarding the RAPD performance were choice of primers and concentration of PCR reagents (template DNA, MgCl(2), primer and Taq DNA polymerase). A factorial design experiment was performed to identify the optimal concentrations of the PCR reagents. The experiment showed that the concentration of the PCR reagents tested significantly affected the number of distinct RAPD products. The RAPD protocol developed was evaluated regarding its discrimination ability using 70 different Yersinia strains. Cluster analysis of the RAPD patterns obtained revealed three main groups representing (i) Y. pseudotuberculosis, (ii) Y. enterocolitica and (iii) Y. kristensenii, Y. frederiksenii, Y. intermedia and Y. ruckeri. Within the Y. enterocolitica group, the European serovar (O:3) and the North American serovar (O:8) could be clearly separated from each other. All Y. enterocolitica O:3 strains were found in one cluster which could be further divided into two subclusters, representing the geographical origin of the isolates. Thus, one of the subclusters contained Y. enterocolitica O:3 strains originating from Sweden, Finland and Norway, while Danish and English O:3 strains were found in another subcluster together with O:9 and O:5,27 strains. The repeatability (intralaboratory) and reproducibility (interlaboratory) of the RAPD protocol were tested using 15 Yersinia strains representing different RAPD patterns. The intralaboratory and the interlaboratory studies gave similarity coefficients of the same magnitude (generally >70%) for the individual strains. In the present study, it was shown that interreproducible RAPD results could be achieved by appropriate optimisation of the RAPD protocol. Furthermore, the study reflects the heterogeneous genetic diversity of the Y. enterocolitica species.

Research paper thumbnail of Identification of major contamination sources during processing of emulsion sausage

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1988

Research paper thumbnail of A model based on absorbance data on the growth rate of Listeria monocytogenes and including the effects of pH, NaCl, Na-lactate and Na-acetate

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Chemical, microbial and sensory changes during the anaerobic cold storage of beef inoculated with a homofermentative Lactobacillus sp. or a Leuconostoc sp

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1992

Slices of beef were inoculated with about 3.5 log cfu/cm2 of Lactobacillus sp. 93 SMRICC 235 (hom... more Slices of beef were inoculated with about 3.5 log cfu/cm2 of Lactobacillus sp. 93 SMRICC 235 (homofermentative) or Leuconostoc sp. 89 SMRICC 189 and stored in 5% CO2 + 95% N2 at 4 degrees C. The microbial, chemical (glucose, L-lactate, D-lactate, acetate, formate, ethanol, H2S) and sensory changes of the beef slices were studied. For beef inoculated with Lactobacillus sp. 93 the flavour score started to decrease when the maximum bacterial count was reached. Leuconostoc sp. 89 caused a rapid decrease in the flavour score before reaching the maximum bacterial count. Concentrations of acetate and D-lactate increased while glucose and L-lactate decreased in beef slices inoculated with Lactobacillus sp. 93. In the presence of Leuconostoc sp. 89 ethanol and D-lactate increased while glucose decreased. Lactobacillus sp. 93 formed the highest level of H2S, and a sulphurous off-odour was noted only in the presence of this strain. D-Lactate and acetate indicated high numbers of Lactobacillus sp. 93 on the meat surface, while D-lactate and ethanol indicated high numbers of Leuconostoc sp. 89. More studies are needed in order to correlate levels of D-lactate, acetate and ethanol with sensory changes.

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of bacterial contamination at separate processing stages in emulsion sausage production

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1993

The contamination with spoilage bacteria at separate production steps during the production of em... more The contamination with spoilage bacteria at separate production steps during the production of emulsion sausages was evaluated using a special sampling and evaluation method. Heat processed and chilled sausages were aseptically transferred directly to cold storage, cutting down or packing. Upon completion of the particular production step the sausages were vacuum-packed and stored at 8 degrees C. During storage, the microbial growth of the sausages was followed and the area under the plot of aerobic count versus storage time was calculated. No correlation was found between the total aerobic count of unstored samples and bacterial growth during storage, defined as area under growth curves. Furthermore, the count of lactic acid bacteria on unstored sausages was often below the detection limit. However, the area reflected the extent of contamination during processing with bacteria able to grow on cold-stored vacuum-packed sausages. Storage in a cold storage room was identified as a critical point with respect to bacterial recontamination and shelf-life.

Research paper thumbnail of Inactivation of Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in relation to membrane permeabilization and subsequent leakage of intracellular compounds due to pulsed electric field processing

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of selective enrichment PCR procedures for Yersinia enterocolitica

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of Prevalence of Clostridium botulinum types B, E and F in faecal samples from Swedish cattle

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2003

Faeces were collected from 60 cows at three slaughterhouses situated in southern and central Swed... more Faeces were collected from 60 cows at three slaughterhouses situated in southern and central Sweden. The faecal samples were collected during two sampling periods over the year, summer and winter. All samples were analysed for the presence of Clostridium botulinum spores, according to a combined selection and enrichment PCR procedure. One PCR assay was specific for part of the type B neurotoxin gene, while the other assay was specific for both type E and F neurotoxin genes. The prevalence of C. botulinum in Swedish cattle was established to be 73% for non-proteolytic type B and less than 5% for types E and F. Twenty-eight (64%) of the positive faecal samples had a spore load of less than 4 spores/g. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) showed that seasonal variation (summer and winter) had a significant effect on the prevalence of C. botulinum type B in cattle, whereas the effect of geographical location of rearing of the cattle (southern and central Sweden) was less significant.

Research paper thumbnail of Growth of pulsed electric field exposed Escherichia coli in relation to inactivation and environmental factors

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Influence of long-chain polyphosphate and heat treatment on Clostridium cochlearium and Clostridium sporogenes isolated from processed cheese spread

Journal of Food Protection, Apr 1, 2007

The outgrowth of Clostridium spp. spores causes spoilage in processed cheese products due to gas ... more The outgrowth of Clostridium spp. spores causes spoilage in processed cheese products due to gas and off-odor formation. The present study focuses on the response of spores of Clostridium sporogenes and Clostridium cochlearium at 25 degrees C to polyphosphate, both alone and in combination with heat treatment. The two strains used were isolated from spoiled cheese spread. The addition of 1.5% polyphosphate but not 0.75% polyphosphate totally inhibited the growth of C. sporogenes SIK4.3; in contrast, 0.75% polyphosphate was sufficient to totally inhibit C. cochlearium CCUG 45978. The highest polyphosphate concentration tested (1.5%) was sporicidal for C. sporogenes SIK4.3 but not for C. cochlearium CCUG 45978. When 0.75% polyphosphate Bekaplus FS was combined with a holding time of 5 min at 98 degrees C, no survival or growth of C. sporogenes SIK4.3 was detected; however, the same effect was not achieved through heating alone or through application of polyphosphate alone. C. cochlearium CCUG 45978 was more heat tolerant, as shown by higher D-values. In conclusion, the results strongly suggest that polyphosphate Bekaplus FS has the potential to restrict the growth of C. sporogenes and C. cochlearium in cheese spread stored at ambient storage temperature. Experiments with cheese are needed in order to verify this effect.

Research paper thumbnail of Inactivation of , and in relation to membrane permeabilization and subsequent leakage of intracellular compounds due to pulsed electric field processing

Int J Food Microbiol, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Chemical, microbial and sensory changes during the anaerobic cold storage of beef inoculated with a homofermentative Lactobacillus sp. or a Leuconostoc sp

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1992

Slices of beef were inoculated with about 3.5 log cfu/cm2 of Lactobacillus sp. 93 SMRICC 235 (hom... more Slices of beef were inoculated with about 3.5 log cfu/cm2 of Lactobacillus sp. 93 SMRICC 235 (homofermentative) or Leuconostoc sp. 89 SMRICC 189 and stored in 5% CO2 + 95% N2 at 4 degrees C. The microbial, chemical (glucose, L-lactate, D-lactate, acetate, formate, ethanol, H2S) and sensory changes of the beef slices were studied. For beef inoculated with Lactobacillus sp. 93 the flavour score started to decrease when the maximum bacterial count was reached. Leuconostoc sp. 89 caused a rapid decrease in the flavour score before reaching the maximum bacterial count. Concentrations of acetate and D-lactate increased while glucose and L-lactate decreased in beef slices inoculated with Lactobacillus sp. 93. In the presence of Leuconostoc sp. 89 ethanol and D-lactate increased while glucose decreased. Lactobacillus sp. 93 formed the highest level of H2S, and a sulphurous off-odour was noted only in the presence of this strain. D-Lactate and acetate indicated high numbers of Lactobacillus sp. 93 on the meat surface, while D-lactate and ethanol indicated high numbers of Leuconostoc sp. 89. More studies are needed in order to correlate levels of D-lactate, acetate and ethanol with sensory changes.

Research paper thumbnail of Spore inactivation and quality of paprika powder heated by near-infrared radiation

Research paper thumbnail of CRAN - Company Risk Assessment Network

Research paper thumbnail of Influence of long-chain polyphosphate and heat treatment on Clostridium cochlearium and Clostridium sporogenes isolated from processed cheese spread

Journal of food protection, 2007

The outgrowth of Clostridium spp. spores causes spoilage in processed cheese products due to gas ... more The outgrowth of Clostridium spp. spores causes spoilage in processed cheese products due to gas and off-odor formation. The present study focuses on the response of spores of Clostridium sporogenes and Clostridium cochlearium at 25 degrees C to polyphosphate, both alone and in combination with heat treatment. The two strains used were isolated from spoiled cheese spread. The addition of 1.5% polyphosphate but not 0.75% polyphosphate totally inhibited the growth of C. sporogenes SIK4.3; in contrast, 0.75% polyphosphate was sufficient to totally inhibit C. cochlearium CCUG 45978. The highest polyphosphate concentration tested (1.5%) was sporicidal for C. sporogenes SIK4.3 but not for C. cochlearium CCUG 45978. When 0.75% polyphosphate Bekaplus FS was combined with a holding time of 5 min at 98 degrees C, no survival or growth of C. sporogenes SIK4.3 was detected; however, the same effect was not achieved through heating alone or through application of polyphosphate alone. C. cochlear...

Research paper thumbnail of Characterization of Clostridium spp. isolated from spoiled processed cheese products

Journal of food protection, 2006

Of 42 spoiled cheese spread products, 35 were found to harbor Clostridium spp. Typical signs of s... more Of 42 spoiled cheese spread products, 35 were found to harbor Clostridium spp. Typical signs of spoilage were gas production and off-odor. The identity was determined for about half of the isolates (n = 124) by Analytab Products (API), Biolog, the RiboPrinter System, 16S rDNA sequencing, cellular fatty acid analysis, or some combination of these. The majority of isolates were identified as Clostridium sporogenes (in 33% of products), but Clostridium cochlearium (in 12% of products) and Clostridium tyrobutyricum (in 2% of products) were also retrieved. Similarity analysis of the riboprint patterns for 21 isolates resulted in the identification of 10 ribogroups. A high degree of relatedness was observed between isolates of C. sporogenes originating from products produced 3 years apart, indicating a common and, over time, persistent source of infection. The spoilage potential of 11 well-characterized isolates and two culture collection strains was analyzed by inoculating shrimp cheese ...

Research paper thumbnail of Comparison of shelf life of vacuum-packed pork and beef

Meat Science, 2002

The relevance of the intrinsic factors of meat to the sensorial shelf life of vacuum-packed, cold... more The relevance of the intrinsic factors of meat to the sensorial shelf life of vacuum-packed, cold-stored minced pork and beef was investigated. The intrinsic factors studied were the pH and the concentrations of glycogen, glucose, glucose-6-phosphate, l-lactate and fat. The initial bacterial loading was the same on all the meat. High correlations were found between the initial values of pH, fat and l-lactate, respectively, and the rate of spoilage. Using partial least square regression, it was shown that changes in the pH and the concentrations of l-lactate and glucose-6-phosphate during storage were able to explain 68% of the variation observed in the rate of spoilage. No relationship was found between spoilage and the origin of the meat (pork or beef).

Research paper thumbnail of Bacteriological safety issues in red meat and ready-to-eat meat products, as well as control measures

Research paper thumbnail of Reduction of Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria spp. on pig carcasses by enclosure of the rectum during slaughter

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1994

By sealing off the rectum with a plastic bag immediately after it had been freed, the spread of Y... more By sealing off the rectum with a plastic bag immediately after it had been freed, the spread of Y. enterocolitica O:3/biovar 4 to pig carcasses could be considerably reduced. The organism was recovered from only 0.8% of carcasses when the plastic bag technique was employed. Y. enterocolitica O:3/biovar 4 was recovered from 10% of pig carcasses when eviscerating procedures did not include the use of the plastic bag technique. There was thus an obvious risk of the bacteria further contaminating meat cuts and other meat products. The plastic bag technique was effective both in connection with manual excision of the rectum/low throughput (90 per h), and mechanical freeing of the rectum/high slaughter rate (240 per h). L. monocytogenes was not detected in any of the samples taken from 120 pig carcasses in Norway or from 120 pig carcasses in Sweden. The plastic bag technique was used on half of these pigs. L. innocua was tested for in 120 pigs slaughtered in Sweden. The bacterium was recovered from 33% of the carcasses eviscerated without using a plastic bag, and from 10% of the carcasses in which this technique was employed. The results suggested that there were other, non-faecal, sources of contamination. Other measures in addition to the plastic bag technique are therefore required to limit the spread of Listeria spp. By incorporating the plastic bag technique into the slaughtering procedures, the meat industry would contribute to preventing the dissemination of Y. enterocolitica and other pathogens which spread via the faeces.

Research paper thumbnail of Bacterial spoilage of meat and cured meat products

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1996

The influence of environmental factors (product composition and storage conditions) on the select... more The influence of environmental factors (product composition and storage conditions) on the selection, growth rate and metabolic activity of the bacterial flora is presented for meat (pork and beef) and cooked, cured meat products. The predominant bacteria associated with spoilage of refrigerated beef and pork, are Brochothrix thermosphacta, Carnobacterium spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Shewanella putrefaciens. The main defects in meat are off-odours and off-flavours, but discolouration and gas production also occur. Bacteria associated with the spoilage of refrigerated meat products, causing defects such as sour off-flavours, discolouration, gas production, slime production and decrease in pH, consist of B. thermosphacta, Carnobacterium spp. Luctobacillus spp. Leuconostoc spp. and Weissella spp. Analysis of spoilage as measured by bacterial and chemical indicators is discussed. It is concluded that a multivariate approach based on spectra of chemical compounds, may be helpful in order to analyse spoilage, at least for spoilage caused by lactic acid bacteria. The consequences of bacteria bacteria interactions should be evaluated more.

Research paper thumbnail of Interlaboratory random amplified polymorphic DNA typing of Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. enterocolitica-like bacteria

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2003

A random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) protocol was developed for interlaboratory use to discr... more A random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) protocol was developed for interlaboratory use to discriminate food-borne Yersinia enterocolitica O:3 from other serogroups of Y. enterocolitica and from Y. enterocolitica-like species. Factors that were studied regarding the RAPD performance were choice of primers and concentration of PCR reagents (template DNA, MgCl(2), primer and Taq DNA polymerase). A factorial design experiment was performed to identify the optimal concentrations of the PCR reagents. The experiment showed that the concentration of the PCR reagents tested significantly affected the number of distinct RAPD products. The RAPD protocol developed was evaluated regarding its discrimination ability using 70 different Yersinia strains. Cluster analysis of the RAPD patterns obtained revealed three main groups representing (i) Y. pseudotuberculosis, (ii) Y. enterocolitica and (iii) Y. kristensenii, Y. frederiksenii, Y. intermedia and Y. ruckeri. Within the Y. enterocolitica group, the European serovar (O:3) and the North American serovar (O:8) could be clearly separated from each other. All Y. enterocolitica O:3 strains were found in one cluster which could be further divided into two subclusters, representing the geographical origin of the isolates. Thus, one of the subclusters contained Y. enterocolitica O:3 strains originating from Sweden, Finland and Norway, while Danish and English O:3 strains were found in another subcluster together with O:9 and O:5,27 strains. The repeatability (intralaboratory) and reproducibility (interlaboratory) of the RAPD protocol were tested using 15 Yersinia strains representing different RAPD patterns. The intralaboratory and the interlaboratory studies gave similarity coefficients of the same magnitude (generally >70%) for the individual strains. In the present study, it was shown that interreproducible RAPD results could be achieved by appropriate optimisation of the RAPD protocol. Furthermore, the study reflects the heterogeneous genetic diversity of the Y. enterocolitica species.

Research paper thumbnail of Identification of major contamination sources during processing of emulsion sausage

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1988

Research paper thumbnail of A model based on absorbance data on the growth rate of Listeria monocytogenes and including the effects of pH, NaCl, Na-lactate and Na-acetate

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Chemical, microbial and sensory changes during the anaerobic cold storage of beef inoculated with a homofermentative Lactobacillus sp. or a Leuconostoc sp

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1992

Slices of beef were inoculated with about 3.5 log cfu/cm2 of Lactobacillus sp. 93 SMRICC 235 (hom... more Slices of beef were inoculated with about 3.5 log cfu/cm2 of Lactobacillus sp. 93 SMRICC 235 (homofermentative) or Leuconostoc sp. 89 SMRICC 189 and stored in 5% CO2 + 95% N2 at 4 degrees C. The microbial, chemical (glucose, L-lactate, D-lactate, acetate, formate, ethanol, H2S) and sensory changes of the beef slices were studied. For beef inoculated with Lactobacillus sp. 93 the flavour score started to decrease when the maximum bacterial count was reached. Leuconostoc sp. 89 caused a rapid decrease in the flavour score before reaching the maximum bacterial count. Concentrations of acetate and D-lactate increased while glucose and L-lactate decreased in beef slices inoculated with Lactobacillus sp. 93. In the presence of Leuconostoc sp. 89 ethanol and D-lactate increased while glucose decreased. Lactobacillus sp. 93 formed the highest level of H2S, and a sulphurous off-odour was noted only in the presence of this strain. D-Lactate and acetate indicated high numbers of Lactobacillus sp. 93 on the meat surface, while D-lactate and ethanol indicated high numbers of Leuconostoc sp. 89. More studies are needed in order to correlate levels of D-lactate, acetate and ethanol with sensory changes.

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of bacterial contamination at separate processing stages in emulsion sausage production

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 1993

The contamination with spoilage bacteria at separate production steps during the production of em... more The contamination with spoilage bacteria at separate production steps during the production of emulsion sausages was evaluated using a special sampling and evaluation method. Heat processed and chilled sausages were aseptically transferred directly to cold storage, cutting down or packing. Upon completion of the particular production step the sausages were vacuum-packed and stored at 8 degrees C. During storage, the microbial growth of the sausages was followed and the area under the plot of aerobic count versus storage time was calculated. No correlation was found between the total aerobic count of unstored samples and bacterial growth during storage, defined as area under growth curves. Furthermore, the count of lactic acid bacteria on unstored sausages was often below the detection limit. However, the area reflected the extent of contamination during processing with bacteria able to grow on cold-stored vacuum-packed sausages. Storage in a cold storage room was identified as a critical point with respect to bacterial recontamination and shelf-life.

Research paper thumbnail of Inactivation of Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in relation to membrane permeabilization and subsequent leakage of intracellular compounds due to pulsed electric field processing

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of selective enrichment PCR procedures for Yersinia enterocolitica

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of Prevalence of Clostridium botulinum types B, E and F in faecal samples from Swedish cattle

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2003

Faeces were collected from 60 cows at three slaughterhouses situated in southern and central Swed... more Faeces were collected from 60 cows at three slaughterhouses situated in southern and central Sweden. The faecal samples were collected during two sampling periods over the year, summer and winter. All samples were analysed for the presence of Clostridium botulinum spores, according to a combined selection and enrichment PCR procedure. One PCR assay was specific for part of the type B neurotoxin gene, while the other assay was specific for both type E and F neurotoxin genes. The prevalence of C. botulinum in Swedish cattle was established to be 73% for non-proteolytic type B and less than 5% for types E and F. Twenty-eight (64%) of the positive faecal samples had a spore load of less than 4 spores/g. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) showed that seasonal variation (summer and winter) had a significant effect on the prevalence of C. botulinum type B in cattle, whereas the effect of geographical location of rearing of the cattle (southern and central Sweden) was less significant.

Research paper thumbnail of Growth of pulsed electric field exposed Escherichia coli in relation to inactivation and environmental factors

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2004