• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.936-944
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• 2013

Cronobacter muytjensii is an important foodborne pathogen as a potential risk in infant formula powder (IFP). To develop a new and sensitive method for the detection of Cronobacter spp. in IFP, an immunoglobulin G (IgG) specific for C. muytjensii (formerly known as Enterobacter sakazakii ATCC 51329) was developed. Further, an indirect noncompetitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (INC-ELISA) was developed by using the anti-C. muytjensii IgG. As a result, this newly developed INC-ELISA method was found very sensitive for C. muytjensii with detection limit of $6.5{\times}10^3CFU/ml$ in pure culture and 1 cell/25 g of IFP. This INC-ELISA method also displayed excellent specificity for C. muytjensii showing no cross-reactivity with other strains of Cronobacter genus and 11 other foodborne pathogenic strains. These results show that the developed INC-ELISA method was very sensitive, efficient, and rapid for the detection of C. muytjensii. Hence, this method could be applied to the development of diagnostic kits for the rapid and easy detection of C. muytjensii.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.87-91
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• 2011

The aim of this study was to compare the performance of conventional culture and real-time PCR for detection of Cronobacter spp. in powdered foods. Infant formula, baby food and Misugaru inoculated with Cronobacter were enriched in distilled water as first enrichment step, followed by incubating in Enterobacteriaceae enrichment (EE) broth as second enrichment step. A loopful of enriched sample was streaked onto Druggan-Forsythe-Iversen agar, followed by incubating at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 h. One milliliter of the enriched distilled water and EE broth were used in real-time PCR assay. No statistical differences were observed in the number of positive samples between culture method and real-time PCR (p>0.05) in all types of food samples. The number of positives of real-time PCR was higher in the first enrichment media (distilled water) than the second enrichment media (EE broth), though there was no significant difference (p>0.05). It appears that some components of the second enrichment broth, EE broth, inhibit the reaction of real-time PCR. These results show that real-time PCR using a single enrichment with distilled water could be useful as an effective screening method for detection of Cronobacter while saving much time and labor compared to conventional culture method.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.509-514
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• 2011

This study was conducted to investigate the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of Korean isolates of Cronobacter spp. (Enterobacter sakazakii). A total of 43 Cronobacter spp., including 5 clinical isolates, 34 food isolates, 2 environmental isolates, and 2 reference strains (C. sakazakii ATCC 29004 and C. muytjensii ATCC51329) were used in this study. Korean isolates of Cronobacter spp. were divided into 11 biogroups according to their biochemical profiles and 3 genomic groups based on the analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences. Biogroups 1 and 2 contained the majority of isolates (n=26), most of which were contained in 16S rRNA cluster 1 (n=34). Korean isolates of Cronobacter spp. showed diverse biochemical profiles. Biogroup 1 contained C. sakazakii GIHE (Gyeonggido Research Institute of Health and Environment) 1 and 2, which were isolated from babies that exhibited symptoms of Cronobacter spp. infection such as gastroenteritis, sepsis, and meningitis. Our finding revealed that Biogroup 1, C. sakazakii, is more prevalent and may be a more pathogenic biogroup than other biogroups, but the pathogenic biogroup was not represented clearly among the 11 biogroups tested in this study. Thus, all biogroups of Cronobacter spp. were recognized as pathogenic bacteria, and the absence of Cronobacter spp. in infant foods should be constantly regulated to prevent food poisoning and infection caused by Cronobacter spp.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.307-311
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• 2009

The objectives of this study were to compare the biochemical profiles with biogroups for the identification of Cronobacter spp. (formally known as Enterobacter sakazakii) isolates using biochemical identification kits. A total of 38 Cronobacter spp. contained 5 clinical, 31 food, and 2 environmental isolates were used. All isolates were identified as Cronobacter spp. with the Vitek II system and ID 32E kit. The API 20E kit identified all isolates as Cronobacter spp. but the percentage identification was 51.1% for 16 of 38 isolates. These strains were contained to Biogroup 2, 9, 10, and 11. The utilization of inositol is a factor determining the percentage identification of Cronobacter spp. with the API 20E kit.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.104-112
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• 2021

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of commercial disinfectants at inactivating Enterobacter sakazakii (Cronobacter spp.) in water. Disinfectant I contained 6.15% sodium hypochlorite, and disinfectant II contained both 2.25% n-alkyl dimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride and 2.25% n-alkyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride. Disinfectant I was added to distilled water to obtain a range of residual chloride concentrations at 50 ppm intervals with a maximum of 1-1,000 ppm. Disinfectant II was prepared at concentrations ranging from 1-200 ppm with 5 ppm intervals. Exposure time for all solutions was 10 min. In total, 58 E. sakazakii (Cronobacter spp.) strains were tested in this study. Nine isolates were obtained from clinical samples, and 49 isolates were obtained from environmental samples. Seven strains (6 clinical and 1 environmental) were able to survive in 100 ppm disinfectant I, and a maximum of 5 ppm of disinfectant II. Fifty one strains (3 clinical and 48 environmental) were not killed in 10 ppm of disinfectant I and 1 ppm of disinfectant II in water. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that clinical E. sakazakii (Cronobacter spp.) strains displayed 5- to 10-fold higher resistance to disinfectants than environmental E. sakazakii (Cronobacter spp.) strains. Disinfectant II, containing quaternary ammonium compounds, was shown to be more potent in inactivating E. sakazakii (Cronobacter spp.) in water used to clean infant formula manufacturing equipment than disinfectant I.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.103-112
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• 2023

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of 10 different pre-enrichment methods using Real-Time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in support of the FDA method. When the initial Cronobacter spp. (Enterobacter sakazakii) inoculation was 7.2 CFU/g, the Ct values were observed in the following order: 21.37 (Enterobacteriaceae enrichment [EE] broth), 21.95 (brain heart infusion [BHI]), 22.72 (tryptic soy broth [TSB]), 23.02 (violet red bile lactose [VRBL]), 22.31 (TSB-0.1% sodium pyruvate [SP]), 23.43 (distilled water [DW]), 24.34 (phosphate buffered saline [PBS]), 24.95 (nutrient broth [NB]), 25.82 (TSB-0.6% yeast extract [YE]), and 28.27 (violet red bile glucose [VRBG]). For an inoculation of 1.82% CFU/g of Cronobacter spp. (E. sakazakii), the Ct values were recorded in this sequence: 20.34 (EE broth), 22.16 (TSB-0.6% YE), 22.37 (BHI), 22.71 (VRBL), 22.88 (TSB), 23.01 (DW), 23.19 (NB), 23.79 (TSB-0.1% SP), 24.66 (VRBG), and 24.70 (PBS). Finally, when the inoculum of Cronobacter spp. (E. sakazakii) was 0.182 CFU/g, the Ct values followed this order: 21.93 (VRBL), 23.07 (TSB-0.6% YE), 23.31 (DW), 23.47 (PBS), 23.70 (BHI), 24.14 (TSB-0.1% SP), 25.14 (TSB), 29.00 (VRBG), 31.55 (EE broth), and were undetected in the case of NB. Consequently, these results indicate that there were no significant differences among the 10 different pre-enrichment broths. Future studies should focus on exploring pre-enrichment broths that can improve the limit of detection at very low Cronobacter spp. (E. sakazakii) concentrations and enhance the selective recovery of Cronobacter spp. (E. sakazakii) under acid, antibiotic, cold, and heat damage conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.1629-1635
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• 2016

A novel bacteriophage, PBES 02, infecting Cronobacter sakazakii was isolated and characterized. It has a spherical head of 90 nm in diameter and a tail of 130 nm in length, and belongs to Myoviridae as observed under a transmission electron microscope. The major virion protein appears to be 38 kilodaltons (kDa) in size. The latent period of PBES 02 is 30 min and the burst size is 250. Infectivity of the phage remained intact after exposure to temperatures ranging from 4℃ to 55℃ for 1 h. It was also stable after exposure to pHs ranging from 6 to 10 for 1 h. The phage effectively removed contaminating Cronobacter sakazakii from broth infant formula. PBES 02 has a double-stranded DNA genome of 149,732 bases. Its GC ratio is 50.7%. Sequence analysis revealed that PBES 02 has 299 open reading frames (ORFs) and 14 tRNA genes. Thirty-nine ORFs were annotated, including 24 related to replication and regulation functions, 10 related to structural proteins, and 5 related to DNA packaging. The genome of PBES 02 is closely related to that of two other C. sakazakii phages, CR3 and CR8. Comparison of DNA sequences of genes encoding the major capsid protein revealed a wide geographical distribution of related phages over Asia, Europe, and America.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.197-202
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• 2015

While various foodborne pathogenic bacteria can be detected more rapidly via polymerase chain reaction than via conventional plating methods, it is impossible to distinguish between viable and dead cells in DNA-based assays. Hence, propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment has been introduced to detect living cells. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the applicability of the PMA treatment and real-time qPCR method for the detection of Cronobacter sakazakii and to compare it to that of plate counting. Based on our positive results, we suggest the use of PMA treatment and real-time qPCR for the detection of viable Cronobacter sakazakii in various food sources and an update of the Korean Food Code.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.63-68
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• 2016

Rhizomes of Kaempferia parviflora (Zingiberaceae) have been used in traditional Thai medicine for health promotion. In this study, the antibacterial activity of ethanol extract of K. parviflora against Cronobacter spp. and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) was investigated using paper disc dilution method. The results revealed that the ethanol extract exhibited antibacterial activity against Cronobacter spp. and EHEC. With an increasing concentration of K. parviflora ethanol extract, larger zones of inhibition of Cronobacter spp. and EHEC strains tested were observed. Therefore, its antibacterial activity suggested that K. parviflora could be used as a natural additive to ascertain food safety of various dairy products.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.439-444
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• 2016

In the present study, the performance of culture methods using two selective agars and real-time PCR were compared for selective isolation of Cronobacter in powdered infant formula and dried pumpkin. Two food samples were spiked with the pathogen and then preenriched in distilled water. A small portion of preenrichment (10 mL) was incubated in Enterobacteriaceae enrichment both, followed by inoculation onto Druggan-Forsythe-Iversen agar (DFI agar) and Cronobacter sakazakii chromogenic plating agar (R&F agar). The preenrichment and enrichment (1 mL each) was used in real-time PCR assay. In powdered infant formula (PIF), no statistical difference was observed between both culture methods and real-time PCR with preenrichemt (p > 0.05). However, the number of positives obtained by R&F agar and real-time PCR was much higher than that of culture method using DFI agar in dried pumpkin (p < 0.05). In particular, R&F agar yielded a significantly greater selectivity than DFI agar in dried pumpkin (p < 0.05). Real-time PCR and R&F agar, which are currently recommended by US FDA, could be used as an alternative detection tools for the isolation of Cronobacter in PIF and ingredient of child foods such as dried pumpkin that has high number of competing natural microflora.