Week 8

Pathogens Potential Food/Carriers Detection

Escherichia coli - Raw milk, raw vegetables, MacConkey Agar and EMB
raw beef, raw chicken agar
- Fecal to oral transmission

Salmonella spp - Meats (cattle), milk, poultry, XLD agar

eggs, raw vegetables,
polluted water

Staphylococcus aureus - Poultry, meats, dairy BPA agar

products, salads, luncheon
meats, hams
- Contaminated foods from
infected food handlers

Bacillus cereus Starchy foods (fried rice, PEMBA agar or MYP agar
cooked potatoes), soup, meat
dishes

Yeast and Mold - All PDA agar

Escherichia coli
E. coli are motile facultative anaerobic Gram-negative rods. They are most commonly found in
raw milk, raw vegetables,raw beef and chicken. Most strains of E. coli are harmless and live in
the intestines of healthy humans and animals. However, the O157 strain produces shiga toxins
that can cause severe illness. However, E. coli is not heat resistant. Thus, the common cause of
food poisoning pertaining to E. coli is through contamination.

In order to detect E. coli, the MacConkey Agar is used. The media used to contain the samples
will be EC broth or Luria Bertani broth.

Salmonella spp
Salmonella is a facultative anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria. It is most found in raw meat,
undercooked poultry, eggs and raw milk. The bacteria are passed from feces of people or
animals to other people or animals. Contaminated foods are often animal in origin.

To detect salmonella in food samples, we take 25g of food sample and add it to 225g of peptone
water. Place it in the stomacher to homogenize the sample. For selective enrichment, take 1ml
of the sample and dispense it into a rich medium like RVS broth or MKTTn broth. Incubate at
37°C for 24 hours, before streaking it on XLD agar. After incubating for another 24 hours, black
colonies would have formed on the XLD plates if Salmonella is present.

Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is an enterotoxin producing pathogen. It is a Gram-positive, facultative
anaerobic bacteria.Staph food poisoning is a gastrointestinal illness caused by eating foods
contaminated with toxins produced by the bacterium. S. aureus is commonly found in the
environment (soil, water and air) and is also found in the nose and on the skin of humans. It
usually gets on food through human contamination from food handlers.

BPA agar with Egg Yolk Tellurite Emulsion is used to detect staphylococci in food. After
autoclaving the agar, aseptically dispense Egg Yolk Tellurite into the agar before plating on the
petri dishes. For enrichment, Peptone water can be used. Dark gray to black, shiny,
medium-sized colonies, with clear halos surrounding colonies indicate the presence of S.
aureus.

Bacillus cereus
Bacillus cereus is a facultatively anaerobic, toxin-producing gram-positive bacterium found in
soil, vegetation, and food. The growth of B. cereus is the result of improper food handling,
storage, and cooling.

Microbiological Standards
With reference to the Food Regulations by AVA regarding microbial standards for ready to eat
(RTE) foods, the limit for Escherichia coli count (cfu/g) should be <102. However, the limit for
E. coli o157:h7 should be undetectable in 25g. This standard also applies for Salmonella spp.
As for Staphylococcus aureus, the limit is<102 cfu/g. The limit for Bacillus cereus is <2x102 cfu/g.
Lastly, the legal limit for Yeast and Mold in RTE foods is <103(?)

Food Stall E. coli Salmonella S. aureus B. cereus Yeast and mold

Biz Park ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Chicken Rice

Biz Park ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Ban Mian

Short Circuit ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Mala

Short Circuit ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Western
Food stalls with exceptionally high microbial count and potential pathogen carriers