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Title: DETECTION OF ARCOBACTER SPP. IN GROUND PORK BY MODIFIED PLATING METHODS

Author
item COLLINS, C - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item WESLEY, IRENE
item MURANO, E - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/25/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Arcobacter spp. are a new group of bacteria. They are closely related to Campylobacter jejuni, which is a major cause of human foodborne illness. Arcobacter spp. have been implicated in human and in animal disease. Little is known about the distribution of Arcobacter in foods. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Arcobacter spp. in ground pork manufactured in Iowa. In an initial survey, 89 percent of samples of ground pork from one slaughter facility were positive for Arcobacter spp. In a second survey, 90 percent of samples of ground pork contained Arcobacter. Four additional slaughter facilities were also surveyed. The prevalence of Arcobacter spp. in ground pork obtained from these four facilities ranged from 0 to 13 percent. The reason for the variation in prevalence of Arcobacter spp. in ground pork from different plants was not determined. These findings provide FSIS information on prevalence and distribution of Arcobacter in slaughter facilities. Ultimately, FSIS will use this information to formulate strategies for reduction of foodborne pathogens.

Technical Abstract: Examination of ground pork (n = 149 samples) from one Iowa slaughter facility revealed that 90 percent of the samples were positive for Arcobacter spp. In a second survey done nine months later involving that same plant and four others, only 22 percent of the samples from the four plants were found to be positive for Arcobacter spp. The plant with the high incidence in the first survey again showed 90 percent positive samples. Such variation in incidence of this organism in ground pork from different plants raises a question regarding whether it is the sanitary practices during slaughter or the rearing of pigs on the source farms that contribute to the prevalence of Arcobacter spp. in one plant versus another.