Quantification and molecular characterization of Salmonella isolated from food samples involved in salmonellosis outbreaks in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Data concerning the prevalence and populations of Salmonella in foods implicated in outbreaks may be important to the development of quantitative microbial risk assessments of individual food products. In this sense, the objective of the present study was to assess the amount of Salmonella sp. in different foods implicated in foodborne outbreaks in Rio Grande do Sul occurred in 2005 and to characterize the isolated strains using phenotypic and genotypic methods. Nineteen food samples involved in ten foodborne outbreaks occurred in 2005, and positive on Salmonella isolation at the Central Laboratory of the Health Department of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, were included in this study. Food samples were submitted to estimation of Salmonella using the Most Probable Number (MPN) technique. Moreover, one confirmed Salmonella colony of each food sample was serotyped, characterized by its XbaI-macrorestriction profile, and submitted to antimicrobial resistance testing. Foods containing eggs, mayonnaise or chicken were contaminated with Salmonella in eight outbreaks. Higher counts (>10(7) MPN.g(-1)) of Salmonella were detected mostly in foods containing mayonnaise. The isolation of Salmonella from multiple food items in five outbreaks probably resulted from the cross-contamination, and the high Salmonella counts detected in almost all analyzed samples probably resulted from storing in inadequate temperature. All strains were identified as S. Enteritidis, and presented a unique macrorestriction profile, demonstrating the predominance of one clonal group in foods involved in the salmonellosis outbreaks. A low frequency of antimicrobial resistant S. Enteritidis strains was observed and nalidixic acid was the only resistance marker detected.