Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes 4b and Yersinia enterocolitica O3 in ayran and modified kefir as pre- and postfermentation contaminant

Abstract

The survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes 4b and Yersinia enterocolitica O3 in traditional yogurt and kefir during fermentation, in ayran (a dairy beverage in Turkey), pasteurised (long-life) ayran, modified kefir (salted and diluted kefir) and pasteurised modified kefir during cold storage were investigated. Pasteurised samples were used to monitor the antibacterial effect of natural flora of yogurt and kefir during cold storage. Populations of all the strains were increased during fermentation, and thus pre-fermentation contamination appeared more rhisky than postfermentation contamination. Pasteurisation appeared not to be disaadventageous an application on the microbiological safety of the samples, neverthelessbiological benefits which may come from live microorganisms is lost. While E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes 4b survived for up to 21 days in all samples, Y. enterocolitica O3 survived only for 14 days in modified kefir. Yogurt microflora appeared to be more suppressive on the pathogens than that of kefir.