High Coliform Levels Research Articles

Seasonal fluctuation of water quality and ecogenomic phylogeny of novel potential microbial pollution indicators of Veshaw River Kashmir-Western Himalaya

Nearly a billion people, especially in underdeveloped nations, need safe drinking water. Indian studies suggest that most drinking water sources have high coliform levels, and quality assurance is required. This study was conducted in rural parts of South Kashmir in the Western Himalaya from February 2019 to January 2020. Standard river water sampling was done from upstream to downstream of the river. This study examined the detection, molecular identification, and chemical water quality of coliform-contaminated drinking water, which sums up river water pollution. Water quality varied significantly, indicating downstream contamination. Sangam (downstream) had the highest coliform count, showing 72.2600 cfu per litre in summer, while Kongwaton (upstream), near the Veshaw River, had no coliform count in winter. In summer, Sangam (downstream) had the highest water quality metrics (pH 6.847, Electrical conductivity (EC) 71.620 dS/m, Biological oxygen demand (BOD) 1.120 mg/L, and Chemical oxygen demand (COD) 24.637 mg/L) in all seasons. The lowest winter water quality metrics in Kongwaton were pH 8.947, EC 253.680 dS/m, BOD 4.963 mg/L, and COD 51.440 mg/L. Coliforms in water suggest faecal contamination. This study examines the water quality attributes of drinking water and associated factors to determine river pollution. Total DNA was collected and sequenced for 16 S rDNA and metagenomics. Universal primers were used to amplify the bacterial 16 S rRNA. Using BLAST, the amplified 16 S rRNA gene sequence was matched to the NCBI database. A metagenomic study revealed 27 species with different relative abundance. These species include Escherichia coli, E. fergusonii, E. albertii, Klebsiella grimontii, and Shigella dysenteriae. This study is thought to be the first to discriminate against E. fergusonii, E. albertii, K. grimontii, and S. dysenteriae from E. coli and to report on E. fergusonii and E. albertii, K. grimontii, and S. dysenteriae in the river Veshaw water sources in Kulgam, Western Himalaya.

Water Quality and Microbiological Contamination across the Fish Marketing Chain: A Case Study in the Peruvian Amazon (Lagoon Yarinacocha)

The contamination of the surface water of lagoons is a common problem in developing countries, and can affect fishing activities. A case study was conducted on water quality and microbiological contamination of the fishing marketing chain in the Peruvian Amazon (Laguna de Yarinacocha). The microbiological, physical–chemical and parasitological parameters of the surface water were evaluated in three points of the lagoon near the landing stage; and microbiological parameters of facilities, handlers and three species of fish (Prochilodus nigricans, Mylossoma duriventre and Siluriforme spp.). In the water, there were coliform counts ≥ 23 (Most probable number—MPN)/100 mL, Escherichia coli ≥ 3.6 MPN/100 mL, and Pseudomona spp. up to 2.2 MPN/100 mL; high turbidity and variable amounts of parasites. In facilities and handlers, high levels of coliforms, mainly Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, were found in M. duriventre meat. A poor quality of the surface water of the lagoon is concluded that compromises part of the fishing marketing chain, mainly facilities and manipulators. Furthermore, the levels of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in fish meat show poor handling practices and possible risk of contamination by water sources.

Population dynamics of coliforms in a commercial Cheddar cheese production facility

The detection of coliforms in young cheese is a potential indication of undesirable microbial growth within the processing environment. The aim of this study was to investigate sources and conditions that lead to the intermittent detection of coliforms (1-3 log cfu/g) in young Cheddar cheese at a single commercial facility. Analysis of historical production data, in combination with iterative investigative sampling events, was performed to determine coliform levels in milk, whey, curd, and surfaces at the beginning, middle, and end of the production day. After sanitation, conveyor belt pieces from the draining and matting conveyor (DMC) were collected and evaluated for bacterial survivors using culture-based methods and scanning electron microscopy. Production data analysis indicated that cheese produced later in the production day (≥16 h) was significantly more likely to test positive for coliforms than cheese made earlier in the production day (<12 h). Enumeration of coliforms in raw and heat-treated milk demonstrated that the subpasteurization thermal treatment (67-70°C, 26-28 s) was effective at reducing, but not eliminating, coliforms. Repeated sampling identified the DMC, particularly the drain belt and belt 1, as a critical area that supported coliform growth during the production day. Coliform levels in whey entering the weir maintained a level of <1 cfu/mL throughout production; however, coliform levels in whey below the drain belt increased from <1 cfu/mL at midday (8 h) to 5.04 log cfu/mL by the end of the production day (~18 h). Routine sanitation inside the DMC resulted in undetectable coliform levels on easily accessible surfaces. However, enrichment and scanning electron microscopy of belt sections revealed pockets of viable coliforms and other bacteria in cracks and defects in conveyor belts, indicating that sanitation did not eliminate all viable bacteria. Low levels of coliforms are present in heat-treated milk and survive sanitation in the DMC and could serve as the initial seed for high levels of coliforms at the end of the production day.

Drinking water quality in areas impacted by oil activities in Ecuador: Associated health risks and social perception of human exposure.

The unregulated oil exploitation in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon Region (NEAR), mainly from 1964 to the 90's, led to toxic compounds largely released into the environment. A large majority of people living in the Amazon region have no access to drinking water distribution systems and collects water from rain, wells or small streams. The concentrations of major ions, trace elements, PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) were analyzed in different water sources to evaluate the impacts of oil extraction and refining. Samples were taken from the NEAR and around the main refinery of the country (Esmeraldas Oil Refinery/State Oil Company of Ecuador) and were compared with domestic waters from the Southern region, not affected by petroleum activities. In most of the samples, microbiological analysis revealed a high level of coliforms representing significant health risks. All measured chemical compounds in waters were in line with national and international guidelines, except for manganese, zinc and aluminum. In several deep-water wells, close to oil camps, toluene concentrations were higher than the natural background while PAHs concentrations never exceeded individually 2 ng·L-1. Water ingestion represented 99% of the total exposure pathways for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic elements (mainly zinc) in adults and children, while 20% to 49% of the Total Cancer Risk was caused by arsenic concentrations. The health index (HI) indicates acceptable chronic effects for domestic use according the US-EPA thresholds. Nevertheless, these limits do not consider the cocktail effects of metallic and organic compounds. Furthermore, they do not include the social determinants of human exposure, such as socio-economic living conditions or vulnerability. Most (72%) of interviewed families knew sanitary risks but a discrepancy was observed between knowledge and action: religious beliefs, cultural patterns, information sources, experience and emotions play an important role front to exposure.

Microbial quality of reduced-sodium napa cabbage kimchi and its processing.

This study evaluated the microbial safety of reduced‐sodium napa cabbage kimchi products by comparing with conventional kimchi samples. Five commercial kimchi samples were collected from different manufacturers in Korea. Total aerobic plate counts and coliforms counts between regular and reduced‐sodium kimchi were not significantly (p > 0.05) different and major foodborne pathogens, including Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Yersinia enterocolitica were not detected in any sample. Bacillus cereus contamination among all kimchi samples was less than the regulation level (3.0 log CFU/g). However, high levels of coliforms were observed in both types of samples. To investigate microbial hazards of kimchi processing, we analyzed specific kimchi production processes and found five control points which can reduce coliform levels in kimchi samples. The results of this study could be helpful for the kimchi industry to produce safe reduced‐sodium kimchi products.

Effect of Irrigation Water Quality on the Microbial Contamination of Fresh Vegetables in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

Irrigation water is probably the leading source of contamination of fresh vegetables in the world. In agricultural intensive areas, surface and groundwater resources are more likely to be exposed to be contaminated with zoonotic bacteria, given their close proximity to sources of faeces from livestock, dairy farms and wildlife. The aim of this study was to determine the role of irrigation water as a vehicle for the transmission of zoonotic bacteria of faecal origin and its contribution to the bacterial contamination of fresh vegetables to conclude with a need of risk management in rural areas. First, to determine the magnitude and the frequency of faecal contamination and the pathogens in the water source, the microbiological quality of the water resources used in irrigation in the studied area, including the upper Litani and the private wells located near its basin was investigated. In a second step, an assessment of the microbiological quality of the fresh vegetables irrigated from these water resources was done. A total of twelve different vegetables comprising spinach, parsley, cabbage and lettuce and 38 water samples were collected from both the well waters and the Litani River from the 5 studied sites and analyzed for a period of 5 months, to assess the microbial contamination level. Samples were analyzed for aerobic bacteria, total coliforms, faecal coliforms, E.coli and S.aureus . All vegetables sampled during the study period recorded high level of coliforms, E.coli and S.aureus. The microbial load recorded in the water samples was generally higher than that recorded in the vegetables. Since most of these vegetables are eaten fresh or slightly cooked, there is a concern on the public health that will be affected. Education of farmers and consumers on food safety has to be intensified to avert a possible outbreak.

Canonical Variable Selection for Ecological Modeling of Fecal Indicators.

More than 270,000 km of rivers and streams are impaired due to fecal pathogens, creating an economic and public health burden. Fecal indicator organisms such as are used to determine if surface waters are pathogen impaired, but they fail to identify human health risks, provide source information, or have unique fate and transport processes. Statistical and machine learning models can be used to overcome some of these weaknesses, including identifying ecological mechanisms influencing fecal pollution. In this study, canonical correlation analysis (CCorA) was performed to select parameters for the machine learning model, Maxent, to identify how chemical and microbial parameters can predict impairment and F-somatic bacteriophage detections. Models were validated using a bootstrapping cross-validation. Three suites of models were developed; initial models using all parameters, models using parameters identified in CCorA, and optimized models after further sensitivity analysis. Canonical correlation analysis reduced the number of parameters needed to achieve the same degree of accuracy in the initial model (84.7%), and sensitivity analysis improved accuracy to 86.1%. Bacteriophage model accuracies were 79.2, 70.8, and 69.4% for the initial, CCorA, and optimized models, respectively; this suggests complex ecological interactions of bacteriophages are not captured by CCorA. Results indicate distinct ecological drivers of impairment depending on the fecal indicator organism used. impairment is driven by increased hardness and microbial activity, whereas bacteriophage detection is inhibited by high levels of coliforms in sediment. Both indicators were influenced by organic pollution and phosphorus limitation.

Water quality of the Grijalva river in the Chiapas and Tabasco border

The objective was to characterize water quality for a section of the Grijalva River and its tributaries, for rainy and dry season in the border of the States of Chiapas and Tabasco. 23 physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters as well as contaminants were determined and compared with the Mexican norm NOM-127-SSA1-1994 which establishes water quality maximum permissible limits for use and human consumption and with the water quality classi cation scale proposed by the Comisión Nacional del Agua. Water quality of the Grijalva River in the studied section and tributaries, also locally named Almandros river, decreases as it descends to more populated areas of Tabasco. Water turbidity and high levels of coliforms and Escherichia are the main problems associated with the rivers of the studied area, even in water sources destined for human consumption. Other studied parameters have acceptable water quality mainly during the dry season, except for Mercury, which showed higher levels than the recommended by the norm in all sampling sites. The need to further study presence of Mercury in the Grijalva River basin is suggested.

Groundwater quality on dairy farms in central South Africa

Dairy farms in central South Africa depend mostly on groundwater for domestic needs and dairy activities. Groundwater samples were collected from 37 dairy farms during 2009 and 2013. Sixteen water quality parameters were tested and compared to the standard. Four parameters in 2009 and six in 2013 exhibited 100% compliance with the standard. Nitrate, Escherichia coli and total coliforms showed relatively low compliance across farms and years. Almost all farms were noncompliant for hardness in both sampling years. T-tests revealed significant changes from 2009 to 2013 for pH (t = 2.580; p = 0.006), hardness (t = 2.197; p = 0.016) and potassium (K) (t = 1.699; p = 0.0468). For hardness, approximately 45% of the farms in 2009, and 57% in 2013, posed a health risk to sensitive consumers. More than 50% of the farms in both years demonstrated levels of nitrates that could pose a health risk, particularly for babies. High levels of coliforms and E. coli were found, indicating a health risk for clinical infections in consumers. The number of farms presenting 3 or more parameters with a health risk more than doubled from 13.5% in 2009 to 27.0% in 2013.

EFFICIENCY OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT AT ZAGAZIG CITY FOR REMOVING MICROBIAL AND CHEMICAL POLLUTANTS (CASE STUDY)

Biological urban wastewater treatment plants utilize microorganisms for wastewater treatment so that microbiological characterization of processes is very important. In addition, the removal of these microorganisms in the effluent for their reuse is important. This study aims to characterize the presence of microbial flora and chemical pollutants along the processes in Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) at ZagazigCity. The removal efficiency of total bacterial counts was approximately 20 -74% during all the periods of study from April 2011 up to January 2012. However, the average total Enterobacteriaceae count in the wastewater samples reduced in all the periods by 85% except in June and December 2011in which the reduction was varied between 29-37%. The results show a high level of coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Shigella in the raw wastewater; although their total removal is not achieved (the removal efficiency was 11 to 83 %). Candida spp., which is a yeast indicator, although it is less usual than E. coli, is detected in raw wastewater as well as in treated wastewater. The maximum total yeasts and Candida counts in the wastewater samples were reduced by 64.29 and 95.24 %, respectively in August and October 2011. There was no difference in the physicochemical properties found in the treated wastewater during all the periods of the study in WTP. The maximum removal efficiency of biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), nitrate, sulphate and oil in the treated wastewater samples was 91.6, 89.8, 8.6, 45.4, 99.2 and 90.2 %, respectively

Microbiological Food Safety Status of Commercially Produced Tomatoes from Production to Marketing

Tomatoes have been implicated in various microbial disease outbreaks and are considered a potential vehicle for foodborne pathogens. Traceback studies mostly implicate contamination during production and/or processing. The microbiological quality of commercially produced tomatoes was thus investigated from the farm to market, focusing on the impact of contaminated irrigation and washing water, facility sanitation, and personal hygiene. A total of 905 samples were collected from three largescale commercial farms from 2012 through 2014. The farms differed in water sources used (surface versus well) and production methods (open field versus tunnel). Levels of total coliforms and Escherichia coli and prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium were determined. Dominant coliforms were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. No pathogens or E. coli were detected on any of the tomatoes tested throughout the study despite the high levels of coliforms (4.2 to 6.2 log CFU/g) present on the tomatoes at the market. The dominant species associated with tomatoes belonged to the genera Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Citrobacter. Water used on the farm for irrigation considered not fit for purpose according to national agricultural irrigation standards, with high E. coli levels resulting from either a highly contaminated source water (river water at 3.19 log most probable number [MPN]/100 ml) or improper storage of source water (stored well water at 1.72 log MPN/100 ml). Salmonella Typhimurium was detected on two occasions on a contact surface in the processing facility of the first farm in 2012. Contact surface coliform counts were 2.9 to 4.8 log CFU/cm(2). Risk areas identified in this study were water used for irrigation and poor sanitation practices in the processing facility. Implementation of effective food safety management systems in the fresh produce industry is of the utmost importance to ensure product safety for consumers.

Assessing the sources of high fecal coliform levels at an urban tropical beach.

Recreational water quality is commonly assessed by microbial indicators such as fecal coliforms. Maceió is the capital of Alagoas state, located in tropical northeastern Brazil. Its beaches are considered as the most beautiful urban beaches in the country. Jatiúca Beach in Maceió was found to be unsuitable for bathing continuously during the year of 2011. The same level of contamination was not observed in surrounding beaches. The aim of this study was to initiate the search for the sources of these high coliform levels, so that contamination can be eventually mitigated. We performed a retrospective analysis of historical results of fecal coliform concentrations from 2006 to 2012 at five monitoring stations located in the study region. Results showed that Jatiúca Beach consistently presented the worst quality among the studied beaches. A field survey was conducted to identify existing point and non-point sources of pollution in the area. Monitoring in the vicinity of Jatiúca was spatially intensified. Fecal coliform concentrations were categorized according to tide range and tide stage. A storm drain located in northern Jatiúca was identified as the main point source of the contamination. However, fecal coliform concentrations at Jatiúca were high during high tides and spring tides even when this point source was inactive (no rainfall). We hypothesize that high fecal coliform levels in Jatiúca Beach may also be caused by aquifer contamination or, more likely, from tide washing of contaminated sand. Both of these hypotheses will be further investigated.

Ultrasound treatments improve the microbiological quality of water reservoirs used for the irrigation of fresh produce

Irrigation water has been highlighted as a source of microbial contamination in produce. Water treatment has been recommended as an intervention strategy to reduce microbial risks associated to irrigation water. Commercial water treatments mostly depend on chemical agents; although growers search for greener alternatives to chemical biocides. Ultrasounds (US) have been proposed as an environmentally friendly technology for irrigation water. In the present study, the suitability of two US treatments (20kHz: US20 and 40kHz: US40 at a specific energy (Es) of 745J/L) and one chlorine treatment (1–2ppm free chlorine) was evaluated and compared to the untreated control. Five water reservoirs belonging to five commercial intensive farms were selected as representative of irrigation practices generally used in south of Europe. All tested water treatments were able to reduce microbial loads, including Escherichia coli (0.5–0.6 log units), to values that were accepted in most of the recommended guidelines of good agricultural practices (≤2logunits). The obtained reductions were lower than those previously reported for these water treatment technologies in lab-scale tests. High microbial reductions are commonly obtained in laboratory studies, yielding impressive results. However, when the same treatments are applied under real commercial conditions, microbial reductions are usually less impressive. All water treatments were able to reduce COD of irrigation water when compared to the untreated control. COD reductions obtained using chlorine (≥430mg/L) and US 20 (~100mg/L) were higher than those observed using US 40 (<50mg/L). The impact of the water quality on the efficacy of US treatments was evaluated in two types of water including surface water and treated wastewater. It was found that the quality of the irrigation water significantly influences the efficacy of the ultrasound treatment. Correlations between indicator parameters have been also evaluated. Obtained results showed that high algae counts were well correlated with high levels of coliforms and E. coli. It could be concluded that US can be proposed as an alternative water treatment to chemical treatments to preserve microbial quality of irrigation water stored in water reservoirs reducing the environmental impact.

Microbial Fuel Cell: A Promising Technology for Harnessing Bioenergy from Yamuna Water

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs), is a futuristic technology and has proved to be an alternative source of renewable energy. MFCs harness the metabolism of microbes and convert their chemical energy into electrical energy. The present study involves a comparison between MFCs with and without mediators using water samples collected from the Yamuna river at Nizamudin bridge. The analysis of physico-chemical parameters indicated low levels of dissolved oxygen and alarmingly high levels of coliforms. The performance of MFC was checked in the presence and absence of mediators. The columbic efficiency of the MFC was compared by varying the proton bridges (conventional salt bridge versus the proton exchange membrane). Glucose is used as substrate, which is considered as an instantaneous source of energy for the biological systems. The electricity generated by MFC with mediator was found to be higher as compared to that of mediatorless MFC. The Yamuna water is deemed to contain a consortium of bacteria, which may be responsible for the generation of electricity. Secondly, chemical compounds (Fe, NO2 , SO4 -) present in the Yamuna water may act as mediators of the electrons transport to the anode and hence increase the potential difference. The usage of Nafion membrane also leads to significant increase in the power generated by the MFC as compared to the conventional salt bridges. Attempts to increase the efficiency of our system are being carried out by fabricating electrodes using nanotechnology. © 2014 iGlobal Research and Publishing Foundation. All rights reserved. Conference Proceedings: International Conference on Life Sciences, Informatics, Food and Environment; August 2930, 2014 INDO GLOBAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES ISSN 22491023 Indo Global Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences( ISSN 2249 1023 ; CODENIGJPAI; NLM ID: 101610675) indexed and abstracted in EMBASE(Elsevier), SCIRUS(Elsevier),CABI, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstract Services(CAS), American Chemical Society(ACS), Index Copernicus, EBSCO, DOAJ, Google Scholar and many more. For further details, visit http://iglobaljournal.com

WATER QUALITY OF THE WATER PARK VALE DOS IPÊS IN CAMPOS GERAIS, MINAS GERAIS STATE.

This study evaluated some physico-chemical and microbiological parameters of water quality of the Water Park Vale dos Ipes in Campos Gerais, Minas Gerais State. Four water samples were taken at different sites during 3 consecutive weeks in October 2012. Four replicates of each collected sample were used for evaluations of pH, turbidity and color and two replicates for microbiological analysis. Water quality was assessed based on that established by the Ordinance 518/2004 of the Ministry of Health. Water samples collected at the water park showed values of pH, turbidity and color within the standards, but also high levels of coliforms at 35 o C and thermotolerant thus not meeting the standards previously established by CONAMA. It is concluded that the analyzed water samples are not suitable for direct contact and for human food, nor suggested for irrigation of plants and vegetables. The analysis of the degree of contamination of the water park can be complemented with the development of research projects that can assess more specific parameters of contamination from industrial, agricultural and domestic effluents over a longer period of time.

Detection and enumeration of Coliforms and Escherichia coli in water

Water samples from eighteen different sources in Nairobi were analyzed for coliform and E. coli content using three microbiological techniques,namely: Multiple tube or Most Probable Number (MPN) technique, Defined Substrate Technique (DST) or Colilert technique and Petrifilm(TM) PlateCount Techniques. All the three techniques detected coliforms in water samples contaminated by these organisms. However, the Colilert and Petrifilm Plate techniques were superior to the multiple tube technique in differential detection and enumeration of coliforms and E. coli. Overall, the Petrifilm Plate technique was the most sensitive of the three methods as it was able to detect as few as one E. coli cell per 100 ml of the water samples. Of the 18 different water sources tested, Nairobi River, Nairobidam, Kabete dam, and Kawangware stream had very high numbers of coliform bacteria and E. coli. The level of contamination in Nairobi River varied with the sampling site. Coliforms and E. coli levels were highest in Nairobi River water samples obtained near Chiromo and Arboretum areas, and lowest in samples obtained at the museum hill area. Chunga River along Ngong road and Mbagathi River had moderately high levels of coliforms and E. coli, and the levels of contamination were still way too high above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendedlevels for safe drinking water. All the borehole water samples tested had no coliforms and E. coli except for those in Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and Kenya Commercial bank (KCB) training center, which hadlow counts of these organisms. None of the tap water samples and commercial bottled water samples tested had coliforms or E. coli.

The role of domestic wells on Hamadan water supply contamination

The objective of this study was to identify and assess the possible presence of coliform bacteria in Hamadan drinking water during drought seasons that generally influenced the water resources of Hamadan city. For this purpose, 464 water samples were collected during two periods (P1 and P2) between July 2003 to March 2005 and total and faecal coliforms bacteria (Coli.), dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature (T), pH and residual chlorine concentration (Cl) were measured. The results showed that Cl concentrations varied between 0.27 and 0.42 mg/l. The contaminated samples during periods P1, P2 and the total periods (PT) were 29.5, 12.5 and 21%, respectively, indicating the high coliform levels in water. The results indicated 61.5% of the samples contained Cl concentration between 0 to 0.5 mg/l. An inverse relationship was found between Cl concentration and coliforms of the samples. Contaminated groundwater of domestic wells, collected biofilms in old pipelines of the network, leakage of sewage water and weak chlorine concentration were the major factors that resulted in contamination of coliform-free water supplied from the reservoirs of the city. Further studies are necessary to better understand the exact reasons for the contamination detected during this research.

A Turkey survey of hygiene indicator bacteria and Yersinia enterocolitica in raw milk and cheese samples

In this research, a total of 200 dairy (raw milk, cheese) samples obtained from Ankara, were examined for the presence of Yersinia spp., total coliform and Escherichia coli. As expected, raw milk 55% (55/100) were significantly contaminated with Yersinia spp., than cheese samples 14% (14/100). Y. enterocolitica was the most commonly isolated species, and was recovered from 47.3% in raw milk 35.7% in cheese samples. The other Yersinia spp. were identified as Y. frederiksenii (31.0%, 21.4%), Y. kristensenii (12.7%), Y. intermedia (7.2%, 7.1%) and atypical Yersinia spp. (1.8%, 35.7%) in raw milk and cheese samples, respectively. All the samples of cheese examined were negative for Y. kristensenii. All Y. enterocolitica strains tested gave negative results in the autoagglutination tests and crystal violet binding test. Furthermore total coliform bacteria and E. coli were investigated in these samples. According to the analysis results, most of the samples containing Yersinia spp.were found high number of viable count cell total coliform than E. coli. Total coliform bacteria and E. coli, were detected (3.0 × 10 4 cfu/ml and 1.5 × 10 4 cfu/ml) in four milk samples containing Y. enterocolitica while, they were detected (2.5 × 10 4 cfu/ml and 1.0 × 10 4 cfu/ml) in eight milk samples containing Y. enterocolitica. In the present study, total coliform bacteria and E. coli were detected >1.1 × 10 5 cfu/g in six cheese samples containing Y. enterocolitica and atypical Yersinia spp. The results indicate that Yersinia spp. is more likely to be isolated from foods with a high level of coliforms than from foods with low coliform counts.

Coliform and Pathologic Bacteria in Sierra Nevada National Forest Wilderness Area Lakes and Streams

To analyze backcountry-area water quality in US Department of Agriculture Forest Service-designated wilderness areas for the presence of coliform and potentially pathogenic bacteria. Thirty-one backcountry lakes and streams were selected that would stratify the risk based on use by backpackers, pack animals, commercial grazing animals, or natural unaffected wilderness areas. Sites included Desolation Wilderness (10 sites), Carson-Iceberg Wilderness (4 sites), Emigrant Wilderness (3 sites), Hoover Wilderness (6 sites), John Muir Wilderness (3 sites), and Golden Trout Wilderness (5 sites). Water was collected in sterile tubes and quantification was performed through Millipore bacterial samplers. On return to the laboratory, bacteria were harvested from the samplers and subjected to qualitative analysis that identified species according to standard laboratory methods. Coliform bacteria were detected in 14 of 31 sites (45%). Eight sites had high levels of coliforms. All 8 of these sites correlated with heavy human use or commercial grazing. Coliforms were identified as Escherichia coli. In addition, 1 sample contained Yersinia entercolitica. All samples contained expected amounts of normal aquatic bacteria, including Pseudomonas spp, Rahnella aquatilis, Serratia spp, and other nonpathogenic species of Yersinia in concentrations of 600 to 10,000 colony-forming units per 100 mL. In this study, coliform bacteria were found at nearly half of the sampling sites. High coliform levels correlated with high-impact human use or cattle grazing.

Determination of microbiological contamination sources during ice cream production in Denizli, Turkey

Ice cream is a food commodity consumed widely during summer. The aim of this research is to determine the microbiological contamination sources during ice cream production. The samples were collected from four different pastry shops in Denizli area in Turkey. Samples were taken for microbial analyses from six points (premix, fresh ice cream, sold ice cream, ice cream cabinet, firming dish, scoop water and the hands of factory and sales department personnel). The results showed that premix had low levels of coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB) and yeast and mould. The levels of these microorganisms were higher in the fresh ice cream than their corresponding premixes. Moreover, sold ice cream had the highest levels of all microorganism groups. The samples taken from ice cream cabinet and firming dishes contained low levels of TAMB and yeast-mould but no coliform, faecal coliform or S. aureus. On the contrary, high levels of coliforms, faecal coliform and S. aureus, TAMB and yeast-mould were found in the samples collected from factory/sales department personnel hands and scoop water. Overall results showed that cooling method, personnel hands and scoop water were the main sources of the microbial contamination of ice cream produced and sold in pastry shops.