Occurrence of Foodborne Pathogens and Molds in Turkish Foods

Abstract

A survey of the occurrence of food pathogens like Salmonella, Listeria, Escherichia, Clostridium, Bacillus and Staphylococcus analyses were performed on 301 food samples from 8 different food categories such as dry legumes, milk products, meat products, fish, frozen foods, deserts, nuts and vegetables and fruits. Yeast and mold analyses were also performed on 364 food products from 9 main food categories such as dry legumes, milk products, meat products, seasonings, deserts, nuts, bee products, bakery products and dried fruits produced in Turkey. S. aureus and Salmonella were the most prevalent (1.33%) of the six isolated pathogens. The species Cl. perfringens, L. monocytogenes and B. cereus were detected with the ratios of 1.00%, 0.66% and 0.66%, respectively. Total yeast and molds occurrence were 1.65% and 9.06%, respectively. Pathogens were detected in cream cheese, spinach, strawberry and cod fish most prevalently, whereas dried fig, chilli pepper, hazelnut and bakery products were determined as foods prone to the growth of molds. The results of this study suggest that faecal contamination of water needs to be prevented, and the production and storage conditions of food materials should be improved. These findings have implications for the use of these surveillance data in developing evidence-based food policy.