Confirmation of presumptive Salmonella colonies contaminated with Proteus swarming using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method

In México, zero tolerance regulation is practiced regarding Salmonella in food products, the presence of which is verified by the procedure described in NOM 114-SSA-1994. During the period between August 2002 and March 2003, 245 food samples were tested using this procedure in the Central Laboratories of the Department of Health for the State of Jalisco (CEESLAB). Of these 245 samples, 35 showed presumptive colonies contaminated with Proteus swarm cells even after selective isolation. These swarm cells make Salmonella recovery and biochemical identification difficult due to the occurance of atypical biochemical profiles which generally correspond to that of Proteus. Out of the 35 samples contaminated with Proteus, 65 presumptive colonies were isolated. These colonies were analyzed using both normative microbiological method and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The PCR method detected two positive samples while normative microbiological method was not able to identify. In order to determine the extent of interference of Proteus swarming on the Salmonella-specific PCR band amplification, Salmonella ser. Typhimurium was grown in the presence of Proteus swarming. These results show that Proteus swarming did not interfere with Salmonella PCR-amplification, although the appearance of Salmonella was altered such that the black precipitate was no observed in the presence of Proteus swarming. Ours result indicate that the PCR method used in this study may be successfully applied to confirm presumptive Salmonella colonies contaminated with Proteus swarming.