Combination of filtration and immunomagnetic separation based on real-time PCR to detect foodborne pathogens in fresh-cut apple.

Rapid detection methods require pre-enrichment culture in order to detect low levels of foodborne pathogens. To rapidly detect foodborne pathogens, enrichment culture processes could be replaced. Filtration and immunomagnetic separation methods have been identified to effectively concentrate and separate target pathogens from foods. In this study, a combination of filtration and immunomagnetic separation (IMS) has enabled the rapid and sensitive detection of foodborne pathogens. The pretreatment method, including separation and concentration procedures, increased sensitivity 10-100-fold. The sensitivity of a combination method using filtration and IMS to detect Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica subsp. Enterica serovar Typhimurium was 10-10¹ CFU/10mL. In fresh-cut apples, IMS combined with filtration effectively improved the detection limit of real-time PCR to 2.70 × 10¹ CFU/g in E. coli O157:H7 and 1.80 × 10² CFU/g in Salmonella. The filtration simplified processing of large-volumes (250mL) and effectively concentrated pathogens while decreasing immunomagnetic beads...