Biosafety assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in vegetarian burger patties in Malaysia

• Main Authors: Wong, Woan Chwen, Pui, Chai Fung, Chai, Lay Ching, Lee, Hai Yen, Mohamad Ghazali, Farinazleen, Tang, John Yew Huat, Ponniah, Jeyaletchumi, Tuan Chilek, Tuan Zainazor, Cheah, Yoke Kqueen, Radu, Son
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English
• Published: Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia 2011
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/24075/1/24075.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/24075/; http://www.ifrj.upm.edu.my/volume-18-2011.html

The aim of this study was to examine vegetarian burger patties manufactured by two producers in Malaysia for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. Brand A was produced by an established food manufacturer while Brand B was produced by a small-scaled food producer. A total of 108 samples of vegetarian burger patties produced by both manufacturers were sampled from retail market and were analyzed by combined MPN-PCR and MPN plating method. Of all the samples tested, ten (9.3%) were found to be contaminated with L. monocytogenes. The L. monocytogenes contamination level in vegetarian burger patties manufactured by producer A (20.9% of the samples were contaminated with 3-1100 MPN/g of L. monocytogenes) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than vegetarian burger patties manufactured by producer B (1.5% of the samples harbored 9.2 MPN/g of L. monocytogenes). Based on the detection and isolation rate obtained with MPN-PCR and MPN-plating, the recovery rate of the L. monocytogenes was estimated to be only 40.0% by MPN-plating approach.