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- Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of staphylococcus aureus in children from Northern PortugalPublication . Silva, J.; Smicht, H.; Lopo, N.; Castro, A.; Teixeira, P.
- Effects of addition of sucrose and salt, and of starvation upon thermotolerance and survival during storage of freeze-dried Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp bulgaricusPublication . Carvalho, A. S.; Silva, J.; Ho, P.; Teixeira, P.; Malcata, F. X.; Gibbs, P.Increased survival of freeze-dried cells of Lactobacillus bulgaricus was observed when the drying medium was supplemented with sucrose; however, the magnitude of such protection was dependent on the growth medium used. Supplementing the growth medium with NaCl markedly increased survival of dried cells, and only a small effect was exerted by the composition of the drying medium or prior to starvation of cells. The D57 values of Lactobacillus bulgaricus cells grown in MRS were about half of those of cells grown in MRS supplemented with sucrose, with sucrose plus NaCl, or with NaCl.
- Virulence genes amongst strains of L. monocytogenes isolated from cheesesPublication . Almeida, Gonçalo; Teixeira, Paula; Hogg, Tim
- Evaluation of antimicrobial susceptibility among Campylobacter jejuniPublication . Camilo, Rute; Mena, Cristina; Silva, Joana; Teixeira, Paula
- Characterisation of alheiras, traditional sausages produced in the North of Portugal, with respect to their microbiological safetyPublication . Ferreira, Vânia; Barbosa, Joana; Silva, Joana; Felício, Maria Teresa; Mena, Cristina; Hogg, Tim; Gibbs, Paul; Teixeira, PaulaThe objective of this study was the characterisation of alheiras, traditional Portuguese sausages, with respect to their microbiological safety. Thirty-eight lots from 17 producers were analysed. The microbiological status of the analysed product can be considered of concern in terms of food safety. Although Campylobacter spp. and Escherichia coli O157 were not detected in any sample,and Clostridium perfringens when present was not at levels of concern with reference to public health, Salmonella spp. were detected in 2 lots of industrially produced alheiras, and more than 60% of the lots analysed were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes in concentrations higher than 100 cfu/g.
- Effect of various growth media upon survival during storage of freeze-dried Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus duransPublication . Carvalho, A.S.; Silva, J.; Ho, P.; Teixeira, P.; Malcata, F. X.; Gibbs, P.The effects of three different growth media (MRS, M17 and Lee’s) on survival during freeze-drying and subsequent storage of six strains of Enterococcus faecalis and two strains of E. durans were investigated. Methods and Results: Distinct Enterococcus spp. strains were grown on M17, MRS and Lee’s broth, freeze-dried and stored at 20 C in air under darkness. At regular intervals throughout storage, freeze-dried samples were rehydrated and then plated on M17 agar. Conclusions: A higher survival rate during storage of dried E. durans was obtained when growth occurred in MRS. The same effect was not observed, however, for the majority of E. faecalis strains, which clearly survived better in the dried state when this organism had been grown in M17 or Lee’s medium. Significance and Impact of Study: The survival of the dried Enterococcus spp. tested during storage was shown to be strain-specific and dependent on the growth medium.
- Listeria monocytogenes in cheese: occurrence, sources of contamination, control, risks to public healthPublication . Almeida, Gonçalo N.; Hogg, Tim; Teixeira, Paula
- Recovery of heat-injured listeria innocuaPublication . Miller, Fátima A.; Brandão, Teresa R. S.; Teixeira, Paula; Silva, Cristina L.M.Listeria innocua was subjected to thermal inactivation and the extent of heat-injured cells was quantified. Cultures were heated in liquid medium for different times, using temperatures in the range of 52.5 to 65.0 °C, and plated on Tryptic Soy Agar with 0.6% yeast extract (TSAYE) used as non-selective medium and on TSAYE plus 5% NaCl (TSAYE+NaCl) and Palcam agar with selective supplement (Palcam agar) as selective media. The difference observed in counts in non-selective and in selective media gave an indication of cell injury during the heat treatment. D- and z- values were calculated for all conditions considered. For each temperature, D-values obtained using non-selective recovery procedures were higher than the ones obtained using the two selective media. When comparing the selective media, it can be concluded that Palcam agar allowed recovery and growth of thermally injured cells and so it was less inhibitor than TSAYE+NaCl. Another important result was the influence of temperature on the degree of cellular injury. As temperature increases, the degree of heat-injured cells also increases, and consequently concern has to be taken with the temperature and the counting medium used in food processing studies. The results of this work clearly demonstrated that selective media used for Listeria monocytogenes enumeration/detection might not be suitable for the recovery of heatinjured cells, which can dangerously underestimate the presence of this foodborne pathogen.
- Food Safety in the domestic environment: incidence of Listeria monocytogenes in domestic refrigeratorsPublication . Marujo, Daniela; Pereira, Isabel; Mena, Cristina; Carneiro, Luísa; Almeida, Gonçalo; Teixeira, Paula; Gibbs, Paul
- Protein extraction and comparison of stain protocols for analysis of two-dimensional electrophoresis gelsPublication . Silva, Joana; Carvalho, Ana Sofia; Votorino, Rui; Domingues, Pedro; Teixeira, Paula; Gibbs, paulProtein extraction and the proteome of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus were studied using different stains. The reversible silver staining technique was shown to be more sensitive than the irreversible silver stain. Coomassie colloidal was demonstrated to be as sensitive as reversible silver stain; however, the Coomassie colloidal blue solution developed a higher background and for sample preparation was more time-consuming.