Figure 5.

Microbial cell count in filtrates. Samples consisting of A) ground beef, B) ground pork, C) ground turkey, and D) spinach were inoculated to attain an initial concentration of ~10⁶ CFU/mL of the following bacteria: E. coli (blue bars), L. monocytogenes (red bars), and S. enterica (green bars). Strains utilized possessed antibiotic resistance markers to allow enumeration of the specific pathogens on agar plates containing antibiotics. The number of colony forming units (CFU) per mL of sample is shown for the three pathogen after each of the four treatments (glass wool, 50 µm filter, graphite felt, and continuous flow centrifugation (CFC)). Because samples were processed via the Stomacher prior to the above listed treatments, the stomached samples represent the initial reference point (the inoculum). In addition, for inclusiveness, the CFU/mL is listed for both the liquid retentate and the effluent of the CFC.