Campylobacterin the Food Supply

Abstract

Campylobacter infections in humans are considered to be mainly food-borne, in which foods of animal origin play an important role. The majority of Campylobacter infections are sporadic (single) cases or small family outbreaks, and the actual source of these types of infection is rarely microbiologically identified. This chapter describes the detection and prevalence of Campylobacter in a wide range of different types of food. Food products, however, may harbor only low numbers of campylobacters, and bacterial cells may be seriously injured by processing procedures such as freezing, cooling, heating, and salting. Survival of Campylobacter on eggshells, however, is considered to be poor because of the sensitivity of the organism to drying. Unpasteurized milk is a well-documented cause of a number of outbreaks of campylobacteriosis. Sufficient heating of red meat products, which are relatively infrequently contaminated with low numbers of Campylobacter, will eliminate this risk of human infection. Several investigations on the detection of Campylobacter in different types of seafood have been carried out. The majority of Campylobacter studies on growth characteristics and survival were carried out during the early 1980s, and summarizing reviews can be found in articles by Doyle and Stern and Kazmi. Reduction of the potential risk of contaminated poultry products has to be achieved by the application of good hygienic practices by both the producers of poultry meat products and the consumers of these products.