Food Analytical Methods

, Volume 3, Issue 1, pp 54–64 | Cite as

Enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes at Low Contamination Levels in Several Food Matrices Using a Membrane Filtration Method

  • Nicolas Baudouin
  • Bertrand Lombard
  • Nelly Audinet
  • Nathalie Gnanou Besse
Article
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Abstract

For the enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes in cold-smoked salmon, a sensitive enumeration method, based on membrane filtration followed by transfer of the filter on a selective medium, has been recently developed. An evaluation of this method was performed with several categories of foods likely to be contaminated with L. monocytogenes. The results obtained with the technique were compared with those from the reference EN ISO 11290-2 method and found to provide more precise results in the enumeration of L. monocytogenes from both artificially and naturally contaminated products. In most cases, the filtration method enabled a greater quantity of food to be examined (from around 0.5 to 14 g, instead of 0.01 to 0.1 g with the reference EN ISO 11290-2 method), thus greatly improving the sensitivity of the enumeration.

Keywords

Listeria monocytogenes Enumeration Filtration Microbiological methods Food 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank A. Kerouanton-Le Gall for providing some L. monocytogenes strains and A. Guignard, S. Herbin, N. Ollieuz, and V. Leclerc for providing some contaminated food samples. This study, conducted in our capacity of European Community Reference Laboratory for Listeria monocytogenes, has been supported by the General Directorate “Health and Consumer Protection” (DG SANCO) of European Community.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Nicolas Baudouin
    • 1
  • Bertrand Lombard
    • 1
  • Nelly Audinet
    • 1
  • Nathalie Gnanou Besse
    • 1
  1. 1.Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur la Qualité des Aliments et sur les Procédés agro-alimentairesAgence française de sécurité sanitaire des alimentsMaisons Alfort CedexFrance

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