TABLE 2.
Microbial counts in all samples of raw materials, processed constituents, and intermediate products determined during preenrichment enumerationa
| Visit and sample | Sample description | Count (avg log no. of CFU/g ± SD) |
Underestimation (log no. of CFU/g) at 30°C (medium) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCA |
RCA |
MRS |
||||||
| 22°C | 30°C | 22°C | 30°C | 22°C | 30°C | |||
| 1st company visit | ||||||||
| I.1b | Whole green sweet bell pepper | 6.20 ± 0.11 | 6.08 ± 0.05 | 5.31 ± 0.03 | 5.25 ± 0.02 | <3 | <3 | |
| I.2 | Whole yellow sweet bell pepper | 5.51 ± 0.07 | 5.46 ± 0.03 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | |
| I.3 | Whole red sweet bell pepper | 5.57 ± 0.05 | 5.55 ± 0.09 | 4.05 ± 0.10 | 3.92 ± 0.08 | <3 | <3 | |
| I.4 | Cut green sweet bell pepper | 6.31 ± 0.07 | 5.98 ± 0.12 | 4.87 ± 0.15 | 4.75 ± 0.18 | <3 | <3 | |
| I.5b | Cut yellow sweet bell pepper | <3 | <3 | 3.77 ± 0.07 | 3.33 ± 0.35 | 3.30 ± 0.00 | 3.00 ± 0.00 | |
| I.6 | Cut red sweet bell pepper | 5.19 ± 0.13 | 5.12 ± 0.11 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | |
| I.7 | Whole peeled carrots | 7.31 ± 0.01 | 7.26 ± 0.05 | 6.52 ± 0.06 | 6.34 ± 0.05 | 3.95 ± 0.05 | 3.69 ± 0.09 | |
| I.8b | Sliced red sweet bell pepper | 3.74 ± 0.13 | 3.69 ± 0.09 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | |
| I.9 | Sliced yellow sweet bell pepper | 4.23 ± 0.03 | 4.21 ± 0.04 | 3.91 ± 0.12 | <3 | 3.69 ± 0.09 | <3 | >0.91 (RCA) |
| I.10b | Sliced red sweet bell pepper | 6.59 ± 0.02 | 6.58 ± 0.02 | 6.55 ± 0.12 | 6.52 ± 0.10 | 3.77 ± 0.00 | <3 | >0.77 (MRS) |
| I.11b | Sliced yellow sweet bell pepper | 7.11 ± 0.03 | 7.07 ± 0.01 | 6.50 ± 0.06 | 6.41 ± 0.05 | 4.57 ± 0.04 | 3.92 ± 0.20 | 0.65 (MRS) |
| I.12 | Halved eggs | 5.29 ± 0.19 | 5.03 ± 0.11 | 3.94 ± 0.14 | <3 | 4.01 ± 0.06 | 3.52 ± 0.07 | >0.94 (RCA) |
| I.13b | Carrot sticks | 7.35 ± 0.02 | 7.31 ± 0.02 | 6.83 ± 0.03 | 6.79 ± 0.07 | 5.52 ± 0.07 | 5.19 ± 0.14 | |
| I.14 | Curly carrot sticks | 7.35 ± 0.02 | 7.25 ± 0.02 | 7.02 ± 0.03 | 6.96 ± 0.04 | 4.67 ± 0.02 | 4.31 ± 0.12 | |
| I.15 | Onion rings | 7.15 ± 0.01 | 7.04 ± 0.05 | 7.01 ± 0.03 | 6.98 ± 0.04 | <3 | <3 | |
| I.16 | Mix (peppers, broccoli, corn, peas) | 7.31 ± 0.03 | 7.30 ± 0.02 | 6.82 ± 0.07 | 6.75 ± 0.13 | 5.15 ± 0.07 | 4.39 ± 0.09 | 0.76 (MRS) |
| I.17b | Wok mix (peppers, carrot, leek) | 7.26 ± 0.02 | 7.23 ± 0.03 | 6.91 ± 0.05 | 6.83 ± 0.03 | 5.53 ± 0.01 | 4.99 ± 0.13 | 0.55 (MRS) |
| I.18b | Tuna | 4.11 ± 0.23 | 4.01 ± 0.37 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | |
| I.19 | Shrimp | 3.96 ± 0.24 | 3.67 ± 0.35 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | |
| I.20b | Chicken cubes | 6.86 ± 0.04 | 6.81 ± 0.07 | 6.59 ± 0.08 | 6.56 ± 0.15 | 5.39 ± 0.11 | 5.22 ± 0.11 | |
| 2nd company visit | ||||||||
| II.1b | Mix (carrot, cabbage, peppers, lettuce, beans) | 5.92 ± 0.01 | 5.89 ± 0.03 | 5.10 ± 0.03 | 5.03 ± 0.02 | 4.45 ± 0.03 | 4.40 ± 0.02 | |
| II.2b | Quinoa with peas | 4.89 ± 0.06 | 4.85 ± 0.06 | 4.67 ± 0.06 | 4.57 ± 0.02 | 4.33 ± 0.04 | 4.28 ± 0.07 | |
| II.3 | Lettuce | 6.70 ± 0.05 | 6.62 ± 0.06 | 5.62 ± 0.02 | 5.58 ± 0.04 | <3 | <3 | |
| II.4 | Tuna | 6.56 ± 0.04 | 6.40 ± 0.05 | 5.01 ± 0.06 | 5.05 ± 0.08 | 6.51 ± 0.03 | 6.45 ± 0.02 | |
| II.5b | Bulgur tandoori | 5.28 ± 0.07 | 5.23 ± 0.03 | 4.40 ± 0.04 | 4.26 ± 0.10 | 3.58 ± 0.17 | 3.42 ± 0.10 | |
| II.6 | Mix (carrot, cabbage, peppers, lettuce, beans) | 5.46 ± 0.01 | 5.44 ± 0.02 | 5.05 ± 0.13 | 5.02 ± 0.08 | 4.44 ± 0.07 | 4.40 ± 0.04 | |
| II.7 | Mix (carrot, cabbage, sauce) | 4.88 ± 0.09 | 4.86 ± 0.09 | 4.40 ± 0.02 | 4.31 ± 0.08 | 3.90 ± 0.05 | 3.84 ± 0.06 | |
| II.8 | Sardines | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | |
| II.9b | Halved eggs | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | |
| II.10b | Sliced green sweet bell peppers | 7.23 ± 0.02 | 7.18 ± 0.03 | 7.16 ± 0.05 | 7.09 ± 0.02 | 4.57 ± 0.07 | 3.58 ± 0.27 | 0.99 (MRS) |
| II.11b | Sliced red sweet bell peppers | 7.47 ± 0.04 | 7.42 ± 0.04 | 7.42 ± 0.02 | 7.35 ± 0.01 | 4.98 ± 0.04 | 4.16 ± 0.15 | 0.82 (MRS) |
| II.12 | Farfalle (carrot, peppers, chicken, rocket, tomato) | 6.00 ± 0.04 | 5.75 ± 0.18 | 4.35 ± 0.08 | 4.05 ± 0.08 | 3.46 ± 0.15 | <3 | |
| II.13 | Spirelli (carrot, zucchini) | 5.38 ± 0.00 | 5.25 ± 0.05 | 4.37 ± 0.07 | 4.28 ± 0.02 | 3.98 ± 0.07 | 3.69 ± 0.08 | |
| II.14b | Mix (sweet bell peppers, broccoli, corn) | 6.99 ± 0.01 | 6.86 ± 0.02 | 5.52 ± 0.09 | 5.40 ± 0.04 | 5.04 ± 0.04 | 5.01 ± 0.02 | |
| II.15 | Mix (cucumber, tomato, carrot) | 7.53 ± 0.02 | 7.48 ± 0.02 | 6.88 ± 0.04 | 6.81 ± 0.04 | 4.72 ± 0.05 | 4.34 ± 0.04 | |
| II.16 | Chicken pieces | 4.95 ± 0.05 | 4.36 ± 0.07 | 4.66 ± 0.02 | 4.60 ± 0.04 | 3.75 ± 0.05 | 3.10 ± 0.17 | 0.65 (MRS) |
| II.17 | Spirelli (ham, tomato, egg, parsley) | 4.40 ± 0.02 | 4.26 ± 0.00 | 3.10 ± 0.17 | 3.10 ± 0.17 | 3.42 ± 0.10 | <3 | |
| II.18b | Chicken cubes | 5.33 ± 0.10 | 5.12 ± 0.05 | 5.36 ± 0.07 | 5.23 ± 0.07 | 4.74 ± 0.13 | 3.86 ± 0.09 | 0.88 (MRS) |
| II.19 | Whole green sweet bell pepper | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | <3 | |
| II.20 | Whole yellow sweet bell pepper | 6.97 ± 0.01 | 6.95 ± 0.01 | 5.65 ± 0.06 | 5.58 ± 0.08 | <3 | <3 | |
| II.21 | Whole red sweet bell pepper | 7.45 ± 0.02 | 7.42 ± 0.04 | 5.77 ± 0.03 | 5.70 ± 0.01 | 4.00 ± 0.04 | 3.92 ± 0.08 | |
a
Preenrichment enumeration was performed immediately after recovery of the samples. The counts were generated on three media (i.e., plate count agar [PCA], MRS, and reinforced clostridial agar [RCA]) and at two different temperatures (i.e., 30 and 22°C). Plating was performed in triplicate.
b
Samples used for the pyrosequencing analysis.