Soft Latin-style cheeses like queso fresco typically are not aged,

have a short shelf-life (about 2 weeks), and have a high moisture content (41/59%) [5]. The lack of an aging step as well as high moisture content and the moderate pH level of Latin-style cheeses can all contribute to pathogen growth and increases the likelihood of pathogens surviving and possibly multiplying to the levels necessary to cause GDC-0980 illness [6]. For this reason, the US FDA prohibits the interstate sale of this cheese type if it is manufactured using raw milk [5]. However, for some the taste of Latin-style cheese made with raw milk is preferable. Between 1998 and 2009, 56 cheese-associated disease outbreaks occurred in the United States resulting in 1,377 illnesses,

171 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths [7–9]. Eighteen of these occurrences (32%) specifically involved Latin-style cheeses and a variety of pathogens, resulting in 212 illnesses (15% of total), 95 hospitalizations (55%), 2 deaths (100%), and at least 7 stillbirths [10]. Individuals making homemade cheese (i.e. bathtub cheese) sold in grocery stores accounted for 85 illnesses [7–9, 11]. selleck compound The most serious outbreak involving Latin-style cheeses occurred in 1985; 142 cases of listeriosis caused 48 deaths, of which 30 involved neonates or fetuses [10]. In response to a foodborne outbreak, suspect samples are analyzed according to standardized methods including those described in the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM). One goal of analysis is to recover isolated colonies click here of the pathogenic bacteria that can assist in matching any recovered clinical, food, and environmental isolates to

determine the source(s) of illness. Most methods described in the FDA BAM begin with enriching the suspected food product in a universal or microbe-specific enrichment broth for up to 24 hours. The sample is then plated onto selective agar specific for the target bacteria to obtain isolated colonies. The initial enrichment step is designed to recover and propagate bacterial pathogens in the product facilitating downstream detection efforts. However, enrichment can also influence levels of background microflora. A food sample may consist of a complex consortium of bacteria that can out-compete and otherwise hinder efforts to recover human pathogens. With improved characterization of the microbial taxonomy and abundance associated with a given enriched food product, broths and agar formulations can be vastly improved in terms of culture selectivity. Several studies have attempted to describe the full range of microbes present in cheeses as well as in various steps along the manufacturing and maturation process to understand temporal microflora changes [12–18]. The most widely-used approach begins with the plating of cheese samples on agar and picking isolated colonies for subsequent identification using biochemical analyses or molecular characterization.