Gram negative bacterial species isolated from raw beef meat

Current genetic target-based methods for detection of pathogens in food products can lead to false positives due to cross-reaction of diagnostic tests with other organisms in the food samples. This lack of specificity can significantly delay the diagnostic testing procedures, leading to increased holding times for food manufacturers, and delays in food recalls during outbreak investigations. This project will use high throughput DNA sequencing technologies to generate a database of microorganisms co-enriched with pathogenic E. coli in beef samples that can be used to assess specificity of DNA-based diagnostic tests before deployment to food testing laboratories. The database will serve as an adjunct resource in the generation of validation data for molecular methods developed for detection of dangerous bacteria in foods. Isolates were recovered from raw beef (beef Trim or ground beef) enriched in mTSb containing vancomycin (10 ug/ml) and cefsulodin (3 ug/ml). Genera isolated include Sphingobacterium, Hafnia, Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, Enterobacter.