Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in red meat and meat products determined by VIDAS ECPT and LightCycler PCR

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in retail red meat and meat products with the Vitek Immunodiagnostic Assay System, including H7 Escherichia coli phage technology (VIDAS ECPT), and a real-time polymerase chain reaction system (LightCycler PCR; LCPCR). A total of 106 red meat and meat product samples were analyzed with VIDAS ECPT and LCPCR. VIDAS ECPT presumptive positive samples were subjected to VIDAS Immuno Concentration E. coli O157, followed by culture and serology. Among the 27 out of 72 (37.50%) red meat samples and 3 out of 34 (8.82%) red meat products that tested positive by VIDAS ECPT, 5.55% and 0.00% were confirmed positive for E. coli O157 (but not H7), respectively. Red meat and red meat product samples were 73.61% and 20.58% positive by LCPCR. The 5.55% prevalence of E. coli O157 in red meats poses a significant risk for consumers and indicates insufficient hygiene management both at the farm and during the slaughtering and meat handling processes in Turkey. This is the first report on the detection of E. coli O157 by VIDAS ECPT and LCPCR in naturally contaminated red meat and meat products.