COMPARISON BETWEEN TETRACYCLINE RESISTANT ENTEROCOCCI ISOLATED FROM SHEEP AND TYPICAL CHEESE IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF "PARCO NAZIONALE DEI MONTI SIBILLINI"

Enterococci were isolated from sheep faeces and cheese taken in the «Parco nazionale dei monti Sibillini»; then they were submitted to the antibiotic susceptibility test and to the PCR reaction to amplify tet M and tet O genes. The analysis showed that 23,64% of Enterococci from sheep and 30,77% from cheese were resistant to tetracycline; 14 strains from sheep and 5 from cheese contained tet M and tet O genes as genetic determinants of resistance. These results allow to say that resistant bacteria and genes have the possibility to be transferred from animals to derived food; therefore reducing antibiotic use in farm animals could affect the amount of resistant microorganisms that can reach human beings using this way of diffusion

Seroepidemiological study of toxoplasmosis in sheep in rural areas of the Grosseto district, Tuscany, Italy

Six hundred and thirty individual serum samples from dairy sheep were tested for the presence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii using an indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). The sampled animals came from 33 dairy herds representative of the southern area of the Tuscany region. Questionnaires exploring the management system were filled in by the veterinarian in charge of the herds. Using a cut-off of 1:64, 214 animals (33.97%) were positive with a herd prevalence of 96.97%. Using a sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 95% respectively, the true prevalence was calculated as 38.62% (CI, 34.82%, 42.43%). In the multivariate statistical analysis, T. gondii seropositivity in sheep was significantly associated with herd size <300 (OR=2.046, CI=1.284-3.261), still water source (OR=1.514, CI=1.050-2.182), and access of cats to water given to animals (OR=1.585, CI=1.057-2.379)

Seroepidemiological study of Johne's-disease in dairy cattle in Umbria, Italy

A total of 788 serum samples from dairy cattle in Umbria, Italy, were tested for the presence of antibodies to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. The sampled animals came from 19 herds representative of the central area of the Umbria county (Perugia and Assisi districts). Using the manufacturer suggested cut-off for a positive test, 44 animals (5.6%) were positive. Using the sensitivity and specificity claimed by the manufacturer of the ELISA kit, the true prevalence in Umbria dairy cattle overall was calculated as 9.7% (99% CI, 7.0%, 12.4%)

Isolation of Escherichia coli from lymph nodes of bovine carcasses and detection of hlyA gene with PCR

A potential source of pathogenic bacteria in ground beef is the lymphatic system, specifically the lymph nodes. The objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence of Escherichia coli in bovine lymph nodes. Bovine lymph nodes (n = 200) were collected from 100 carcasses at a commercial slaugh-terhouse. 192 lymph nodes sampled were obtained from 96 regular slaughter, and the remainder 8 were obtained from 4 emergency slaughter. Subiliaci lymph nodes were collected for this study. E. coli preva-lence in the lymph node samples was high, with an overall prevalence of 59.00%. Lymph nodes from emergency slaughter carcasses had a higher prevalence (75.00%) of E. coli than did those from regular slaughter carcasses (58.33%). hlyA gene was never detected

evaluation of the microbial characteristics of meals served in public caterings in italy

A study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological quality, including total mesophilic counts and markers of bacteriological hygiene, as indicator of food safety of three categories of the most consumed meals in the public catering. Cold gastronomy products, cooked warm-served products, and cooked cold-served products were tested for bacterial contamination. Throughout the experiment, 2142 samples and 2680 surfaces were examined for total counts of aerobic bacteria, counts of indicator organisms (coliform organisms and Escherichia coli) and pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes). Implementation of the HACCP system, together with training in personnel hygiene, good manufacturing practices, and cleaning and sanitation procedures, could result in lower aerobic plate counts and a lower incidence of S. aureus, coliform organisms, E. coli, Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were not found in all samples studied. The microbial results of this study demonstrate that personnel training together with HACCP application might contribute to improve the food safety of meals

VALUATIONS OF CURRENT METHODS OF RELIGIOUS SLAUGHTER IN ITALY

The aim of this study is to estimate the scale of practices of religious slaughter and to evaluate current methods practiced in Italy. Three different approaches have been used to obtain data. Stunning before sticking is performed in 5,9% of small ruminants slaughtered according to Halal ritual. Hypothesis of violation of Dlgs 333/98 are discussed in the light of an improvement of religious slaughter practices in Italy

Religious slaughter and animal welfare: data from an online consultation

Two are the main results of the online survey, which was conducted with the purpose to examine the purchase behavior of a group of consumers and their views on animal welfare and religious slaughter. First result is the respondents' great interest about the question on animal welfare, which is in accordance with the growing interest of European citizens about this issue. Second is the demand for a more transparent labeling of animal products, which would be also concerning animal welfare and slaughter method used. These results are in conflict with marketing analysis, which find that consumers want to receive only positive information. Paradoxically, the more information is transmitted to reassure consumers the higher risk to alarm them

ANOMALOUS BLUE COLOURING OF MOZZARELLA CHEESE INTENTIONALLY CONTAMINATED WITH PIGMENT PRODUCING STRAINS OF PSEUDOMONAS FLUORESCENS

In summer 2010 a large outbreak of anomalous blue coloration of mozzarella cheese was recorded in Italy and some northern European countries. Official laboratory analysis and health authorities linked the outbreak to the contamination of processing water with strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens, although several expert raised the question of how to unequivocally link the blue coloring to the presence of the micro-organism. In an attempt to set-up a method to determine whether a given Pseudomonas spp. strain is responsible of the defect, an in vitro system for the evaluation of blue colouring of mozzarella cheese intentionally contaminated with strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens. was developed The system is aimed to ascertain whether P. fluorescens strains, isolated from mozzarella cheese with anomalous blue coloration, are able to reproduce the blue coloration under controlled experimental condition. 96 trials of experimental inoculation of mozzarella cheese in different preservation liquids, were conducted using various suspension of Pseudomonas spp. (P. fluorescens ATCC 13525, P. fluorescens CFBP 3150, one P. fluorescens field strain isolated from blue-colored mozzarella cheese and P. aeruginosa ATCC 10145 as positive control) at different concentrations and incubated at different temperatures. Growth curve of all Pseudomonas spp. strains tested demonstrated that after three days of incubation the concentration was generally higher than 106 CFU/g of mozzarella cheese incubated in Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB), and higher than 105 CFU/g of mozzarella cheese incubated in preservation liquid. All mozzarella cheeses inoculated with the field strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens showed the characteristic anomalous blue coloration, which is often associated with Pseudomonas fluorescens contamination of water used during mozzarella cheesemaking. With the proposed system, which enabled a considerable amount of samples to be analysed under controlled experimental conditions and a large number of data to be generated in a short time, we demonstrated that the presence of Pseudomonas fluorescens in blue coloured mozzarella cheese is a necessary and sufficient condition

RELIGIOUS SLAUGHTER: EXAMPLES OF PRACTICES IN ITALY

The present study aimed at identifying the procedures for current methods of religious slaughter. It consisted of spot visits in abattoirs carried out from October 2008 to March 2009 in Italy. The species covered were cattle, sheep and poultry. During this period, five abattoirs in three different Italian regions were assessed. All the animals were slaughtered without stunning. A reliable protocol was developed to record each animal during slaughter, to get 329 minutes and 28 seconds of video. 313 animals were observed by video image analysis for both halal slaughter and shechita. Observed parameters are discussed in the light of animal welfare. Remarks on restraining methods as well as post-cut clinical indicators of consciousness are considered