Welcome to the Microbiology Information

Listeria is a commonly found in food manufacturing environment.

The only reason it exist is that it is commonly found in drains and even the surrounding areas – and controls to reduce the levels are not functioning.

Controls that are commonly found in entrances such as sanitized footbaths are not as effective as some you may think.

What you need is an effective sanitizer and something that physically scrubs the shoe and boot such as bootwasher to not only remove organic matter, but also sanitise the boots as well. A good quality boot washer is more effective and recommended.

Here we go again, another Vietnamese Bakery in Australia causing food poisoning with their products, the tasty Vietnamese Pork Rolls. This time it’s in the Melbourne suburb of Springvale. Unlike the previous salmonella outbreak where 18 people were hospitalized, only 4 were affected.

As a precaution, the bakery has been ordered to close after nine customers fell ill with salmonella poisoning.

Victoria’s acting chief health officer Dr Chrissie Pickin issued an order yesterday requiring the business to close. The order also requires the business owners to fully dispose of all their food and raw ingredients and thoroughly clean the premises.

Once the health investigators were satisfied that the cleanup was done satisfactorily, and that food handlers at the bakery were clear about how to handle food properly, the bakery can re-open.

Bacillus licheniformis is a Gram-positive motile spore-forming rod, facultative anaerobic and belongs to the Bacillus subtilus group of Bacilli. It is an apathogenic soil organism that is mainly associated with plant and plant materials in nature but can be isolated from nearly everywhere in natures such soil, water, food manufacturing plant and so forth. Although its spores are highly heat resistant (100.C for 30 minutes), it is not as resistant as Bacillus stearothermophilus.

Although very very rare, Bacillus licheniformis has been associated in food poisoning in humans with foods such as cooked meat, poultry and vegetable dishes (particularly stews and curries which have been served with rice). Again this is a rare occurrence and not a major concern. Food poisoning by Bacillus licheniformis is characterized by diarrhea, although vomiting occurs in half of reported cases.

Bacillus licheniformis produce proteases and amylases which at high levels can cause the breakdown of short shelf-life foods with starch such as custards, rice puddings, sauces and so forth. Industrially the enzymes produced by Bacillus licheniformis have been extracted for use in household detergents. In the U.S. about 50% of liquid detergents, 25% of powder detergents, and almost all powdered bleach additives now contain enzymes to help break down stains that are otherwise hard to remove with conventional surfactants alone.

Bacillus licheniformis produce also produces penicillinase, pentosanases, bacitracin, proticin, 5′inosinic acid and inosine, citric acid, and substituted Ltryptophan.

Bacillus licheniformis is also a common dairy contaminant being present in raw milk. Monitoring of incoming raw milk for spores is an effective method of determining whether bacillus spores are present in the milk supply. The species has been isolated in pasteurized milk and cream where it can cause bitterness due to the protease enzymes breaking down the milk protein. It has also been reported as a contaminant in UHT milk as well. Although it is very unlikely to survive the UHT sterilization process, it may reside in the environment within the manufacturing plant and therefore Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) will ensure its prevalence is the environment is reduced. Areas may include dirty valves, seals, heating plates, air vents and so forth.

Bacillus licheniformis also causes ropiness in bread and again monitoring the spore levels in flour may be an effective method of determining whether bacillus spores are present in flour used.

Bacillus licheniformis optimum growth temperature is 30.C; however it will not grow at low pH.

Bacillus No Synopsis Available

An unsatisfactory level of Bacillus cereus in cooked foods generally occurs as a result of inadequate temperature control.

As for Clostridium perfringens, cooked foods should be held at or above 60ºC or at or below 5ºC to prevent growth, or held outside this temperature range for a limited time. Foods associated with Bacillus cereus food poisoning include cooked rice dishes, other cereal based foods such as pasta/noodles, dairy based deserts and meat or vegetable dishes incorporating spices. The detection of high levels (>1000 cfu per gram) of Bacillus cereus should result in an investigation of the food handling controls used by the food business.

Levels of ≥10000 cfu per gram are considered potentially hazardous as consumption foods with this level of contamination may result in food borne illness. Other Bacillus species, such as Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis, have also been associated with food borne illness and may also be tested for using microbiology consulting labs.