Survivability of Vibrio cholerae O1 in Cooked Rice, Coffee, and Tea.

John Yew Huat Tang,Arshad Roslan,Siti Rahmah Masran,Chew Chieng Yeo,Ahmad Juanda Nur’ Izzati,Bariah Ibrahim Izenty,Che Abdullah Abu Bakar

doi:10.1155/2013/581648

John Yew Huat Tang, Arshad Roslan + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/581648

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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the survival of Vibrio cholerae O1 in 3 types of preparation for cooked rice, Oryza sativa L., (plain rice, rice with coconut milk, and rice with ginger); coffee, Coffea canephora, (plain coffee, coffee with sugar, and coffee with sweetened condensed milk); and tea, Camellia sinensis, (plain tea, tea with sugar, and tea with sweetened condensed milk) held at room temperature (27°C). The survival of V. cholerae O1 was determined by spread plate method on TCBS agar. Initial cultures of 8.00 log CFU/mL were inoculated into each food sample. After 6 h incubation, significant growth was only detected in rice with coconut milk (9.67 log CFU/mL; P < 0.05). However, all 3 types of rice preparation showed significant growth of V. cholerae after 24 h (P < 0.05). For coffee and tea preparations, V. cholerae survived up to 6 h in tea with condensed milk (4.72 log CFU/mL) but not in similar preparation of coffee. This study showed evidence for the survivability of V. cholerae in rice, coffee, and tea. Thus, holding these food and beverages for an extended period of time at room temperature should be avoided.

Highlights

The World Health Organization [1] reported the reemergence of cholera as a major infectious disease which posed a global threat to public health, especially in developing countries
Vibrio cholerae is the causal agent for cholera, it is noteworthy that only a small number of V. cholerae are capable of producing cholera toxin which causes the clinical symptom [5] presented as acute diarrhea, commonly known as “rice water” stool
[13] had reported on the survival pattern of V. cholerae O1 on three types of rice kept in an opened container, and the current study aims to investigate the survivability of V. cholerae O1 in different preparations of cooked rice, as well as the common beverages tea and coffee, along with other ingredients in an enclosed container

Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization [1] reported the reemergence of cholera as a major infectious disease which posed a global threat to public health, especially in developing countries. Sporadic outbreaks of cholera can happen in any areas with inadequate supply of water, sanitation, food safety, and hygiene practices [3]. In countries where potable water is available, food would be the main vehicle for cholera outbreaks [6]. Outbreaks have been reported to be associated with the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood, and this has been recognized to be a very important factor contributing to foodborne cholera [8]. Other food such as contaminated cooked rice and fresh produce had been reported [8, 9]. Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods can be contaminated with Vibrio following poor hygiene practices by food handlers [10,11,12], and the organism can multiply rapidly at ambient temperatures

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