Affiliation:
1. 1Department of Nutrition and Food Science–INSA, Nutrition and Food Safety Research Institute, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Joan XXII s/n, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
2. 2Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology (IRTA), Finca Camps i Armet, E-17121 Monells, Spain
Abstract
A total of 364 bacterial isolates, obtained from spinach leaves, were assayed in a decarboxylase broth containing histidine, lysine, and ornithine to check their ability to produce biogenic amines, and then quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Among these isolates, 240 formed cadaverine, 208 formed putrescine, and 196 formed histamine, in widely varying amounts. They frequently produced more than one biogenic amine. Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae and Morganella morganii were the main histamine producers, with mean values of 1,600 and 2,440 mg/liter, respectively, followed by Pantoea spp. 3 (1,710 mg/liter) and Hafnia alvei (2,500 mg/liter). Enterobacter amnigenus and Enterobacter cloacae produced particularly high amounts of putrescine, with mean values of 2,340 and 2,890 mg/liter, respectively. The strongest cadaverine formation was shown by Serratia liquefaciens (3,300 mg/liter), Serratia marcescens (3,280 mg/liter), and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (1,000 mg/liter).
Publisher
International Association for Food Protection
Subject
Microbiology,Food Science