engleski

Examination of sprouts for the presence of STEC using the polymerase chain reaction method in real-time (real-time PCR)

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) belongs to the group of the most important bacteria that can cause serious food poisoning and disorders in humans such as diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Cattle are considered a natural reservoir of STEC, and many poisonings have been linked to ground beef, but often raw milk and sprouts were the cause of food poisoning. Some of the sprouts that are most often used in food are vetch, cereals, cabbage, and plants from the onion family. Sprouts are highly valuable food that is rich in vitamins, proteins, and minerals. They are low in carbohydrates, but they contain a high amount of fiber, so they effectively promote digestion. There is a lot of evidence of the health and nutritional value of sprouts, but also numerous poisonings caused by the consumption of sprouts that were not safe have been recorded. The first warning related to STEC in sprouts was issued by the US Food and Drug Administration back in 1999, and from March 11, 2013, STEC was included in the legal framework of the EU through Commission Regulation (EU) no. 209/2013 of March 11, 2013. The detection method by classical cultivation is carried out according to HRN EN ISO 16654:2003. This method is intended only for serotype O157, while this serotype and all others mentioned in the Regulation (O157, O26, O103, O111, O145, and O104:H4) can be detected by the real-time PCR method. The paper presents the results of STEC detection (8 serotypes) in the sprout samples (n = 113) during the period from 2017 to 2022.

STEC ; PCR ; Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli ; sprouts ; food poisoning ; plant food

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