An improved method for the recovery of Salmonella serovars from orange juice using universal preenrichment broth

The relative effectiveness of three methods for the recovery of Salmonella serovars from orange juice was determined. One method, a modified Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) procedure consisted of preenrichment in lactose broth at 35 degrees C for 24 h, selective enrichment, and selective plating. Another method, a National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC 1) procedure, consisted of direct enrichment in tetrathionate broth at 35 degrees C for 24 and 48 h, followed by selective plating. The third method (also from CDC and designated CDC 2) consisted of preenrichment in Universal Preenrichment (UP) broth at 35 degrees C for 24 h, selective enrichment, and selective plating. In 10 experiments encompassing five different Salmonella serovars and 200 test portions per broth, the CDC 1 method recovered 141 Salmonella-positive test portions, the BAM method recovered 151, and the CDC 2 method recovered 171. In 2 of the 10 experiments, with two different Salmonella serovars, the BAM recovered significantly fewer (P < 0.05) Salmonella-positive test portions than did the CDC 2 method. On the basis of the above results, the second phase of this study focused on a comparison of the effectiveness of the BAM-recommended lactose broth and the CDC 2-recommended UP broth as preenrichment media for the recovery of Salmonella serovars from pasteurized and unpasteurized orange juice. Subsequent culture treatment of the two preenrichments was identical so that the effect of other variables (e.g., different selective enrichment media, various incubation temperatures, and different selective plating agars) on the relative performance of these two preenrichment media was excluded. In one of nine experiments, with pasteurized orange juice, lactose broth recovered significantly fewer (P < 0.05) Salmonella-positive test portions than did UP broth. For the combined results of the nine pasteurized orange juice experiments (180 test portions per broth), lactose broth recovered 99 Salmonella-positive test portions, and UP broth recovered 116. In three of seven experiments, with unpasteurized orange juice, lactose broth recovered significantly fewer (P < 0.05) Salmonella-positive test portions than did UP broth. For the combined results of the seven unpasteurized orange juice experiments (140 test portions per broth), lactose broth recovered 73 Salmonella-positive test portions, and UP broth recovered 117. For both pasteurized and unpasteurized orange juice, the total number of Salmonella-positive test portions recovered with UP broth was significantly greater than the number recovered with lactose broth. These results indicate that UP broth is a more effective enrichment broth for the recovery of Salmonella from orange juice than is lactose broth.