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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #241006
Title: Selected pathogens of concern to industrial food processors: infectious, toxigenic, toxico-infectious, selected emerging pathogenic bacteria

Author
item BEHLING, ROBERT - Behling Food Safety Associates
item EIFERT, JOSEPH - Virginia Polytechnic Institution & State University
item ERICKSON, MARILYN - University Of Georgia
item Gurtler, Joshua
item KORNACKI, JEFFREY - Kornacki Microbiology Solutions
item Line, John
item RADCLIFF, ROY - Marshfield Clinic Research
item RYSER, ELLIOT - Michigan State University
item STAWICK, BRADLEY - Stawick Laboratory Management
item YAN, ZHINONG - Mol Industries

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/17/2007
Publication Date: 6/2/2010
Citation: Behling, R.G., Eifert, J., Erickson, M.C., Gurtler, J., Kornacki, J.L., Line, J.E., Radcliff, R., Ryser, E.T., Stawick, B., Yan, Z. 2010. Selected pathogens of concern to industrial food processors: infectious, toxigenic, toxico-infectious, selected emerging pathogenic bacteria. In: Kornack, J.L. Editor. Principles of Microbiological Troubleshooting in the Industrial Food Processing Environment. New York, NY: Springer. 140 p.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Enterobacter sakazakii is a rod-shaped bacterium that has been implicated in rare cases of neonatal sepsis, meningitis and is associated with necrotizing enterocolitis in infants. Over 80 cases of E. sakazakii-related illness have been reported, although few of these have occurred in adults. There has historically been a correlation between infected infants and potentially-contaminated powdered infant formulas. Although the rate of occurrence is low, over 90% of infants that survive E. sakazakii-related meningitis experience long term neurological complications. E. sakazakii is not known to have a primary reservoir in the environment, appears to be ubiquitous in nature and has been isolated from various foods, utensils and food manufacturing environs, including powdered infant formula. Reports have detailed the unusually high desiccation-resistance of E. sakazakii which may contribute, in part, to its reported presence in powdered infant formulas. The powdered infant formula industry, along with government and private research institutions, have focused their efforts on understanding means of controlling E. sakazakii, and in increasing the sensitivity of tests to detect the pathogen in routine microbiological sampling.