Biofilm Formation Ability of Arcobacter-like and Campylobacter Strains under Different Conditions and on Food Processing Materials.

Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequent cause of bacterial gastrointestinal food-borne infection worldwide. The transmission of Campylobacter and Arcobacter-like species is often made possible by their ability to adhere to various abiotic surfaces. This study is focused on monitoring the biofilm ability of 69 strains of Campylobacter spp. and lesser described species of the Arcobacteraceae family isolated from food, water, and clinical samples within the Czech Republic. Biofilm formation was monitored and evaluated under an aerobic/microaerophilic atmosphere after cultivation for 24 or 72 h depending on the surface material. An overall higher adhesion ability was observed in arcobacters. A chi-squared test showed no association between the origin of the strains and biofilm activity (p > 0.05). Arcobacter-like species are able to form biofilms under microaerophilic and aerobic conditions; however, they prefer microaerophilic environments. Biofilm formation has already been demonstrated at refrigerator temperatures (5 °C). Arcobacters also showed higher biofilm formation ability at the temperature of 30 °C. This is in contrast to Campylobacter jejuni NP 2896, which showed higher biofilm formation ability at temperatures of 5-30 °C. Overall, the results demonstrated the biofilm formation ability of many strains, which poses a considerable risk to the food industry, medical practice, and human health.

Validation and comparison of two commercial ELISA kits and three in-house developed real-time PCR assays for the detection of potentially allergenic mustard in food.

The study compares the applicability of two commercial mustard ELISA kits (Mustard ELISA Kit-specific and Mustard ELISA Kit-total) and three in-house developed real-time PCR assays (singleplex assay for white mustard, singleplex assay for black/brown mustard and duplex assay for the detection of white, black and brown mustard). Analyses of raw and brewed model sausages containing white and black/brown mustard in the range from 1 to 50 ppm indicate that both ELISAs and the three real-time PCR assays allow the detection of traces of mustard in raw and in brewed sausages. The ELISAs were found to be more sensitive than the real-time PCR assays. When the ELISAs and real-time PCR assays were applied to the analysis of 15 commercial foodstuffs differing in their labelling concerning mustard, in one sample mustard was detected with both ELISAs and the three real-time PCR assays although mustard was not indicated on the food ingredient list.