Development and evaluation of a new device to effectively detach micro-organisms from food samples

To develop a new instrument of great versatility for recovering micro-organisms from all types of food samples and to compare the effects with existing sample preparation methods.

To detach micro-organisms from large-size unbroken food samples such as apples, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes without preprocessing, the Spindle apparatus was newly developed. The Spindle was used to effectively detach micro-organisms from large-size samples. In a comparative study involving 51 food samples, treatment with the Spindle and Stomacher showed that recovery of total aerobic micro-organisms (naturally occurring mesophilic microflora) and foodborne pathogens (from samples inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes) for both methods was highly correlated (R² = 0·98). Furthermore, diluents treated by the Spindle contained much less food debris than those treated by stomaching.

These results indicate that Spindle is a novel, effective alternative method for detaching micro-organisms from food samples including four kinds of large-size samples without the need for preprocessing.

The Spindle might be used to widely detaching micro-organisms from all types of food samples for microbiological assay.