Successful distribution of short shelf-life foods, like
spinach and other leafy greens, requires accurate,
rapid methods for the detection of pathogens. We
tested the feasibility of using the BAX® system to
detect both
Salmonella
and
E. coli
O157:H7 in
various types of leafy greens from a single
enrichment.
The study tested 14 samples of freshly picked
untreated leafy greens that were shipped from a
commercial producer to DuPont Qualicon. We
divided each sample into four 25-g portions and
spiked 3 portions with
Salmonella
and
E. coli
O157:H7 at less than 10 cfu/25g, leaving 1 portion
unspiked for the control. Using BAX® system
E. coli
O157:H7 MP enrichment broth, prepared
with DuPont™ StatMedia™ soluble packets, we
incubated all samples at 42
°
C and tested them at
8, 10, 12 and 24 hours with the BAX® system.
The study demonstrated that the BAX® system can
detect low levels (