CURING EFFECTS ON THE GROWTH OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES AND ESCHERICHIA COLI O157:H7 IN CAMEL MEAT USING MOST PROBABLE NUMBER-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION METHOD

Abstract

MPN-PCR method was used to determine Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes in cured camel meat samples during nine days of storage. The MPN-PCR is based on the combination between the conventional Most Probable Number and the Polymerase Chain Reaction technique targeting the Stx1and Stx2 gene for Ecoli O157:H7 and hlyA gene for L. monocytogenes.Growth of both bacteria in the cured and control experimental groups was initially subjected to a spectrophotometric MPN assay using a microplate reader followed by confirming by two PCR assays. It was shown that in the inoculated samples, the population of both microorganisms was significantly increased at all the test times. However, a significant reduction in the populations of both microorganisms was shown in the cured meat compared to the inoculated -but not- cured group. Our results suggested that curing can improve the microbial quality of camel meat.