Survivability of Salmonella and shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 in microwave heated ready-to-eat (RTE) foods
Journal Title: Food Research - Year 2018, Vol 2, Issue 4
Abstract
The safety level of microwaved foods remains at vague as this subject was less addressed scientifically. A study was initiated to address the matter by investigating on the survivability of Salmonella and Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 in microwave heated ready-to-eat (RTE) foods using the Most Probable Number coupled Polymerase Chain Reaction (MPN-PCR) technique. A total of 329 samples of various ready-to-eat (RTE) convenience meals were collected around Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur and Selangor regions. Salmonella was positively identified in 66 samples (20.1%, <3.0-11000 MPN/g) while 86 samples (26.1%, <3.0 - >11000 MPN/g) were positive for E. coli. Out of the 66 positive Salmonella samples, S. enterica serovar Typhimurium was identified in 6 samples (1.8%, <3.0-62.0 MPN/g) and S. enterica serovar Enteritidis was identified in 13 samples (4.0%, <3.0-270 MPN/g). On the other hand, 17 out of the 86 positive E. coli samples were identified as positive STEC O157 (5.2%, 3.0-930 MPN/g). The results signified the high possibility of the pathogens’ survival in RTE foods due to uneven heat distribution, resulting in the presence of cold spots which supports the growth of the pathogens, as well as the microwave reheating time and lack consumers’ knowledge on the microwave oven. The risk of contracting foodborne illness from the consumption of survived pathogens in microwave heated RTE food was estimated using the @RISK® Version 7.5 (Palisade, USA). The outcome indicated a moderate to high rate of foodborne illness incidence which indicated the need to create the awareness on the safety of microwaved foods and provide proper microwaving guidelines to mitigate the risk.
Authors and Affiliations
C. Y. New, A. S. Mohammed, Abdul Rahman R. , Son R.
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP488582
- DOI 10.26656/fr.2017.2(4).E01
- Views 169
- Downloads 0
Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of squid ink powder
Economic development in Malaysia has led to increasing quantity and complexity of generated waste or by-product. The main objective of this study is to investigate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of squid in...
Identification of Luwak coffee volatile compounds with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method
Luwak Coffee is considered high class coffee in the international market for its specialty taste. Aroma is one of the most important components of coffee. Coffee aroma compounds are volatile and non-volatile. Different v...
Optical properties of natural dyes: prospect of application in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs)
Optical properties (absorbance, fluorescence, and transmittance) of the natural dyes extracted from flower, leaf, bark and rhizome of some plant species available in Nepal have been explored, with the prospect of applica...
Evaluation of antioxidant capacity of Aidia borneensis leaf infusion, an endemic plant in Brunei Darussalam
We investigated the total antioxidant capacity of Aidia borneensis leaf infusion, a Bornean endemic plant, which is traditionally consumed as a home-remedy beverage in Brunei Darussalam. The antioxidant capacity of the i...
Chinese steamed bread fortified with green banana flour
Incorporation of Green Banana Flour (BF) into Chinese steamed bread (CSB) may be a strategy to fortify the traditional CSB due to its health benefits. However, BF-incorporated foods in general, have poorer sensory proper...