Potential of selected infant food formulas for production of Bacillus cereus emetic toxin, cereulide

Cereulide producing Bacillus cereus was isolated from randomly chosen commercial infant foods. The cereulide production in infant food formulas was investigated. When the reconstituted foods were inoculated with >10(5) cfu ml(-1) of cereulide producing B. cereus, 2 to 200 microg of cereulide per 100 ml of food accumulated during 24 h of non-refrigerated storage. The amount of cereulide measured in the foods by the accurate chemical assay (LC-MS) matched with that found by sperm micro assay, proving the cereulide was the sole heat stable toxin in the foods and present in its toxic form. The infant formulas containing both cereal and dairy ingredients were the most supportive for cereulide production. Cereulide accumulation was affected by the infant food composition as well as by the handling of the food. Diluting the reconstituted food with water resulted in increased toxin production expressed as mug per volume. More cereulide was accumulated when the food was incubated stationary compared with moderate shaking. The amount of cereulide accumulated within 24 h at room temperature per 100 ml of cereal and dairy or in rice-nondairy reconstituted infant formulas, inoculated with >or=10(5) cfu ml(-1) of B. cereus strain F4810/72, was higher or similar to the amounts reported for foods implicated in emetic type of food poisonings. Thus mishandling and temperature abuse of infant foods may cause food poisoning when emetic B. cereus is present.     

Production of Bacillus cereus emetic toxin (cereulide) in various foods

To determine the role of Bacillus cereus as a potential pathogen in food poisoning, the production of an emetic toxin (cereulide) by B. cereus was quantified in various food sources. The amount of emetic toxin in 13 of 14 food samples implicated in vomiting-type food poisoning cases ranged from 0.01 to 1.28 microg/g. A vomiting-type strain, B. cereus NC7401, was inoculated into various foods and incubated for 24 h at 20, 30, and 35 degrees C. In boiled rice, B. cereus rapidly increased to 10(7)-10(8) cfu/g and produced emetic toxin at both 30 and 35 degrees C. In farinaceous foods, the production of emetic toxin was as high as that in the food samples implicated in food poisoning. Low levels of emetic toxin were detectable in egg and meat and their products and a small quantity of toxin was detectable in liquid foods such as milk and soymilk when not aerated. Bacterial growth and toxin production was inhibited in foods cooked with vinegar, mayonnaise, and catsup, supposedly by the decreased pH of acetic acid. This is the first report that has quantified emetic toxin of B. cereus in various foods.     

Environment driven cereulide production by emetic strains of Bacillus cereus

The impacts of growth media and temperature on production of cereulide, the emetic toxin of Bacillus cereus, were measured for seven well characterised strains selected for diversity of biochemical and genetic properties and sources of origin. All strains carried cereulide synthase gene, ces, on a megaplasmid of ca. 200 kb and all grew up to 48-50 degrees C, but produced cereulide only up to 39 degrees C. On tryptic soy agar five strains, originating from foods, food poisonings and environment, produced highest amounts of cereulide at 23 to 28 degrees C, whereas two strains, from human faeces, produced cereulide similarly from 23 to 39 degrees C, with no clear temperature trend. These two strains differed from the others also by producing more cereulide on tryptic soy agar if supplemented with 5 vol.% of blood, whereas the other five strains produced similarly, independent on the presence of blood. On oatmeal agar only one strain produced major amounts of cereulide. On skim milk agar, raw milk agar, and MacConkey agar most strains grew well but produced only low amounts of cereulide. Three media components, the ratio [K(+)]:[Na(+)], contents of glycine and [Na(+)], appeared of significance for predicting cereulide production. Increase of [K(+)]:[Na(+)] (focal variable) predicted (P<0.001) high cereulide provided that the contents of glycine and [Na(+)] (additional variables) were kept constant. The results show that growth medium and temperature up and downregulate cereulide production by emetic B. cereus in a complex manner. The relevance of the findings to production of cereulide in the gut and to the safety of amino acids as additives in foods containing live toxinogenic organisms is discussed.     

Occurrence of emetic toxin producing Bacillus cereus in the dairy production chain

A collection of 5668 Bacillus cereus isolates, resulting from investigations on sources of contamination to milk in 10 different dairies and 10 farms, was screened for the presence of emetic toxin producing strains, based on phenotypic traits, a specific RAPD-PCR pattern, a sperm motility inhibition test, and was confirmed chemically. No emetic strains (<0.2%) were found in milk at a farm during the grazing period and none was found in environmental samples. Emetic strains were generally rare in milk (<1.0–3.8%) during the stall period but extensive clonal development occurred on one farm in cubicles with deep sawdust bedding. Among 3401 isolates obtained from samples taken along the dairy processing line and in monthly samplings of silo tanks, only 0.05% were emetic toxin producers. However, evidence for an emetic house flora was found in one silo tank. It may be important for the dairy industry to increase surveillance for emetic strains in milk powder and to further optimize the cleaning routines of silos.     

Determination and quantification of the emetic toxin cereulide from Bacillus cereus in pasta,rice and cream with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive method has been developed for determination and quantification of cereulide in cream, rice and pasta. Samples are homogenised after addition of amylase to cooked rice and pasta, and cereulide is extracted with methanol. After the removal of water with methyl-tert butyl ether/hexane and evaporation until dryness, no further purification was required before analysis with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Recently, both cereulide and ¹³C₆-cereulide has become commercially available at high purities; hence, this method offers a more reliable quantification of positive samples than previous methods using valinomycin or in-house produced and purified cereulide as calibration standard. The introduction of amylase in the sample preparation improves both the extraction yield of cereulide from positive samples of starch-rich matrices such as pasta and rice, and the within-laboratory reproducibility of the analytical method. The LoQ of the method is 1.1 ng/g cereulide with RSDs ranging from 2.6% to 10%. The method is fully validated based on Commission Decision 2002/657/EC, suitable for routine analysis, and has been used to analyse samples from a cereulide food poisoning outbreak in a kindergarten in Norway. Cereulide production in different rice and pasta samples was investigated, showing that cereulide was unexpectedly produced by emetic Bacillus cereus in all eight pasta and rice samples.     

A new method for rapid and quantitative detection of the Bacillus cereus emetic toxin cereulide in food products by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis

The Bacillus cereus emetic toxin cereulide causes foodborne intoxication, which may occasionally result in severe disease, and even death. To differentially diagnose the emetic-type of foodborne disease caused by B. cereus and assess the safety of commercial food, we developed a rapid method to quantitate cereulide. This method was combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis for the extraction of cereulide from food using a normal-phase silica gel cartridge. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.1 and 0.5 ng of cereulide ml⁻¹, respectively. Spiked cereulide was reproducibly recovered with over 67% efficiency from nine diverse foods implicated in cereulide food poisoning. The recovery rate, reproducibility, and intermediate precision for this single laboratory validation using boiled rice were 87.1%, 4.4%, and 7.0%, respectively. Further, we detected a wide range of cereulide concentrations in leftover food and vomitus samples from two emetic foodborne outbreaks. LC-MS/MS analysis correlated closely with those acquired using the HEp-2 cell assay, and quantitated cereulide from 10 food samples at least five times faster than the bioassay. This new method will provide clinicians with an improved tool for more rapidly and quantitatively determining the presence of cereulide in food and diagnosing food poisoning caused by cereulide.     

一蜡样芽胞杆菌食物中毒分离株的表型与基因型

目的对2003年发生在云南的一起蜡样芽胞杆菌呕吐型食物中毒案例中的分离株YN0303进行表型和基因型分析研究。方法采用16S r DNA序列分析和16S/23S r DNA ITS特征图谱分析结合形态、生理生化和基因型进行菌种鉴定;PCR检测呕吐毒素和肠毒素合成相关基因,高效液相和质谱联用(HPLC-MS)化学定量分析呕吐毒素合成情况,测试部分生理生化特性和生长温度范围,进行了pan C分型和多位点序列分型(multilocus sequence typing,MLST)。结果确认了该菌株确为蜡样芽胞杆菌Bacillus cereus,虽然该食物中毒是典型的呕吐型案例,但是发现该分离株呕吐毒素相关合成基因ces呈阴性,呕吐毒素化学定量分析结果为阴性;其生理生化特性(水杨苷发酵、淀粉水解和溶血特性)与典型呕吐型菌株也不相同。pan C分型并非呕吐型蜡样芽胞杆菌所属的Ⅲ型,而是属于细胞毒性强的IV型,而且其肠毒素基因hbl、nhe和cyt K2也均呈阳性;多位点序列分析显示该菌是一个新型别ST753,是区域性相对独立进化菌株。结论在该呕吐型食物中毒案例中可能有多个蜡样芽胞杆菌参与,该分离株YN0303并非主要致病株—呕吐型菌株,但可能作为细胞毒性强的菌株参与了共感染。     

Formation of cereulide and enterotoxins by Bacillus cereus in fermented African locust beans

Afitin, iru and sonru are three spontaneously fermented African locust bean Benin condiments. The fermentation processes are exothermic, with temperatures mostly being above 40 °C. A total of 19 predominant Bacillus cereus isolates from afitin, iru and sonru, were investigated. The enterotoxin genes nhe (A, B, C) were present in all 19 isolates, the hbl (A, C, D) in one (afitin), and the cytK gene in three isolates (afitin). Levels of cytotoxicity to Vero cells and NheA production in BHI-broth was within the range of known diarrheal outbreak strains. Autoclaved cooked African locust beans inoculated with emetic (cereulide producing) B. cereus Ba18H2/RIF supported growth at 25, 30 and 40 °C with highly different maximum cereulide productions of 6 ± 5, 97 ± 3 and 0.04 ± 0.02 μg/g beans, respectively (48 h). For non-autoclaved cooked beans inoculated with 2, 4 and 6 log₁₀B. cereus Ba18H2/RIF spores/g beans, cereulide production was 5 ± 4, 64 ± 8 and 69 ± 34 μg/g beans, respectively at 24 h, while it was 70 ± 43, 92 ± 53 and 99 ± 31 μg/g at 48 h of fermentation at 30 °C. Even though high toxin levels were observed, to date there are no known reports on diarrhea or vomiting due to the consumption or afitin, iru and sonru in Benin, which also according to the present study is likely to be expected from the low levels of cereulide produced at 40 °C.     

Bacillus cereus, the causative agent of an emetic type of food-borne illness

Bacillus cereus is the causative agent of two distinct forms of gastroenteritic disease connected to food-poisoning. It produces one emesis-causing toxin and three enterotoxins that elicit diarrhea. Due to changing lifestyles and eating habits, B. cereus is responsible for an increasing number of food-borne diseases in the industrial world. In the past, most studies concentrated on the diarrhoeal type of food-borne disease, while less attention has been given to the emetic type of the disease. The toxins involved in the diarrhoeal syndrome are well-known and detection methods are commercially available, whereas diagnostic methods for the emetic type of disease have been limited. Only recently, progress has been made in developing identification methods for emetic B. cereus and its corresponding toxin. We will summarize the data available for the emetic type of the disease and discuss some new insights in emetic strain characteristics, diagnosis, and toxin synthesis.     

Influence of type of food on the kinetics and overall production of Bacillus cereus emetic toxin

Potato puree and penne pasta were inoculated with cereulide producing B. cereus 5964a and B. cereus NS117. Static incubation at 28 degrees C proved these two foods to be a better substrate for higher cereulide production (4,080 ng/g in puree and 3,200 ng/g in penne were produced by B. cereus 5964a during 48 h of incubation) compared with boiled rice (2,000 ng/g). This difference occurred despite B. cereus counts of more than 10(8) CFU/g in all three products. Aeration of cultures had a negative effect on cereulide production, causing concentrations more than 10-fold lower than in some statically incubated samples. Cereulide production remained undetectable in shaken milk, whereas it reached 1,140 ng/ml in statically incubated milk. At 12 and 22 degrees C, presence of background flora was also a determinative factor. A total B. cereus count of more than 106 CFU/ml did not necessarily lead to uniform cereulide production and was also dependent on the B. cereus strain involved. In this study, we confirm that a number of factors play a crucial role in the determination of the extent to which, if at all, cereulide will be produced. Among those, type of the food, temperature, pH, and whether additional aeration (via incubation on an orbital shaker) is induced had an important role. An important effect was also induced by the cereulide-producing strain involved.     

Atmospheric oxygen and other conditions affecting the production of cereulide by Bacillus cereus in food

Factors influencing the production of cereulide, the emetic toxin of Bacillus cereus in food and laboratory media were investigated, using liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry and sperm motility inhibition bioassay for detection and quantitation. Oxygen was essential for production of the emetic toxin by B. cereus. When beans, rice or tryptic soy broth were inoculated with cereulide producing strains B203, B116 (recent food isolates) or the strain F-4810/72, high amounts (2 to 7 microg ml(-1) or g(-1) wet wt) of cereulide accumulated during 4-day storage at room temperature. In parallel cultures and foods, stored under nitrogen atmosphere (> 99.5% N2), less than 0.05 microg of cereulide ml(-1) or g(-1) wet wt accumulated. The outcome of the bioassay matched that of the chemical assay, with no indication of interference by substances in the rice or beans. Boiling for 20 to 30 min did not inactivate cereulide or cereulide producing strains in rice or the beans. Adding l-leucine and l-valine (0.3 g l(-1)) stimulated cereulide production 10- to 20-fold in R2A and in rice water agar. When the B. cereus strains were grown on agar media under permissive conditions (air, room temperature), cereulide was produced overnight with little or no increase when the incubation was extended to 4 days. In broth culture, the production of cereulide started later than 16-24 h. Anoxic storage prevented cereulide production also when the amino acids had been supplied. Packaging with modified atmosphere low in oxygen may thus be used to reduce the risk of cereulide formation during storage of food.     

Improved multiplex PCR assay for simultaneous detection of Bacillus cereus emetic and enterotoxic strains

Toxin producing Bacillus cereus can cause enterotoxic and/or emetic food poisoning. In the present study, a multiplex PCR assay was developed to detect all toxin genes known to be involved in food poisoning of B. cereus in a single reaction. Specific primers for the detection of enterotoxic (entFM, hblC, nheA, and cytK) genes and emetic toxin production (2 primer pairs: ces, CER) were designed based on the GeneBank sequences. The developed multiplex PCR assay was evaluated in pure culture and artificially inoculated milk, using 43 B. cereus strains and non-target strains. In brief, sensitivity in pure culture was 10-fold or more higher than artificially inoculated milk in multiplex PCR detection limit assay. The presented PCR assay is a developed molecular tool for the rapid simultaneous detection of emetic and enterotoxin producing B. cereus strains.     

Influence of carvacrol on growth and toxin production by Bacillus cereus

The natural antimicrobial compound carvacrol was investigated for its effect on diarrheal toxin production by Bacillus cereus. Carvacrol (0-0.06 mg/ml) reduced the viable count and the maximal specific growth rate (mumax) of B. cereus in BHI broth. The total amount of protein was not affected by carvacrol. However, a sharp decrease (80%) in diarrheal toxin production was observed in the presence of 0.06 mg/ml carvacrol. Carvacrol also inhibited toxin production in soup, but approximately 50-fold higher concentrations were needed to achieve the same effect as in broth. From this study it can be concluded that carvacrol can be added to food products at doses below the MIC value, thereby reducing the risk of toxin production by B. cereus and increasing the safety of the products.     

焙烤食品原料及成品中二氧化硫残留含量的调查分析

此调查旨在了解焙烤食品原料及其成品中二氧化硫残留含量的水平,为食品风险监测提供参考数据;该实验依据GB/T5009.34-2003食品中亚硫酸盐(蒸馏法)分析方法对采集来的84份样品进行检测,其中面粉14份,食品馅料18份,食糖20份,焙烤食品32份。结果表明:面粉、食品馅料、食糖、焙烤食品二氧化硫平均检出值分别为0.0043 g/kg、0.0037 g/kg、0.012 g/kg和0.0061 g/kg,均属于低残留水平。说明目前市场上售卖的焙烤食品原料和成品中二氧化硫的残留量水平较低,不足以对人体健康构成安全风险。     

Incidence, diversity and toxin gene characteristics of Bacillus cereus group strains isolated from food products marketed in Belgium

The major objectives of this study were to determine the incidence, diversity and characteristics of Bacillus cereus group spp. isolated from food products marketed in Belgium. The food products investigated in this study included cooked pasta, lasagna, béchamel sauce, bolognaise sauce, fresh minced beef, fresh-cut vegetables and raw basmati rice. B. cereus group spp. were detected in 56.3% (324 of 575) of the samples giving rise to 380 strains. The highest incidence (100%) occurred in the raw basmati rice. Although only 10 (2.6%) of the 380 isolates were determined to be psychrotolerant (able to grow at ≤ 7 °C), 25 (6.2%), 189 (49.7%) and 334 (87.9%) isolates were able to grow at mild temperature abuse conditions of 8 °C, 9 °C and 10 °C, respectively. The large diversity of the isolates obtained (overall and between isolates obtained from the same product type) was highlighted by the results of the (GTG)₅ PCR fingerprinting of 80 selected isolates. Sixty-one of these 80 isolates belonged to 15 distinct clusters (≥ 85% Pearson correlation) whereas the remaining 19 were each clustered separately. Further diversity was also found in the distribution of toxin genes as 16 different profiles were observed in the 80 selected isolates. Whilst none of 80 selected strains harboured the ces gene required for the production of the emetic toxin cereulide, 42 strains (52.5%) carried all seven genes required for the production of the diarrhoeal enterotoxins: haemolytic BL, non-haemolytic enterotoxin and cytotoxin K. The results of this study highlight not only the omnipresence but also the highly diverse ecology of B. cereus spp. within and across several food product types available on the retail market in Belgium. They should also provide the impetus for more studies to enable detailed risk assessment studies to be performed.     

Follow-up of the Bacillus cereus emetic toxin production in penne pasta under household conditions using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

Two outbreak-related Bacillus cereus emetic strains were investigated for their growth and cereulide production potential in penne pasta at 4, 8 and 25 °C during 7-day storage. Cereulide production was detected and quantified by LC-MS method (LOD of 1 ng/ml, LOQ of 5 ng/ml) and growth was determined by culture-based enumeration. Inoculated B. cereus strains (10(5) CFU/g) were able to reach counts of more than 10(8) CFU/g and cereulide production of about 500 ng/g already after 3 days of storage at 25 °C. Interestingly, a constant increase of the toxin was noticed during incubation at ambient temperature storage: the cereulide was continuously produced during the bacterial stationary growth phase reaching maximal amounts at the end of the experiment (7 days, concentration of about 1000 ng/g). Strictly respected cold chain temperature as 4 °C did not allow any detectable cereulide production for any of the two tested strains. At the limited temperature abuse of 8 °C, a detectable amount of cereulide was observed after two days for one of the strain (TIAC303) (相似文献   

Enterotoxins and emetic toxins production by Bacillus cereus and other species of Bacillus isolated from Soumbala and Bikalga, African alkaline fermented food condiments

The ability of various species of Bacillus from fermented seeds of Parkia biglobosa known as African locust bean (Soumbala) and fermented seeds of Hibiscus sabdariffa (Bikalga) was investigated. The study included screening of the isolates by haemolysis on blood agar, detection of toxins in broth and during the fermentation of African locust bean using the Bacillus cereus Enterotoxin Reverse Passive Latex Agglutination test kit (BCET-RPLA) and the Bacillus Diarrhoeal Enterotoxin Visual Immunoassay (BDEVIA). Detection of genes encoding cytotoxin K (CytK), haemolysin BL (Hbl A, Hbl C, Hbl D), non-hemolytic enterotoxin (NheA, NheB, NheC) and EM1 specific of emetic toxin producers was also investigated using PCR with single pair and multiplex primers. Of 41 isolates, 29 Bacillus belonging to the species of B. cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus pumilus showed haemolysis on blood agar. Using RPLA, enterotoxin production was detected for three isolates of B. cereus in broth and all B. cereus (9) in fermented seeds. Using BDEVIA, enterotoxin production was detected in broth as well as in fermented seeds for all B. cereus isolates. None of the isolates belonging to the other Bacillus species was able to produce enterotoxins either by RPLA or BDEVIA. Nhe genes were detected in all B. cereus while Hbl and CytK genes were detected respectively in five and six B. cereus strains. A weak presence of Hbl (A, D) and CytK genes was detected in two isolates of B. subtilis and one of B. licheniformis but results were inconsistent, especially for Hbl genes. The emetic specific gene fragment EM1 was not detected in any of the isolates studied.     

Catalytic hairpin assembly combined with graphene oxide for the detection of emetic Bacillus cereus in milk

A fluorescence assay combined with PCR, catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA), and graphene oxide (GO) was established to detect emetic Bacillus cereus in milk samples. The processes of the assay are not new, but components of the processes make the assay useful. Two partially complementary hairpin probes (H1 and FAM-H2) were designed according to the target single-strand DNA (ssDNA). The CHA reaction could be initiated only by the target ssDNA, which was generated by the denaturation of PCR amplicons. In the absence of the target ssDNA, CHA reaction could not be triggered, which caused the H1 and FAM-H2 adsorbing on the surface of GO and exhibiting a low fluorescence intensity. Addition of the target ssDNA resulted in opening of the hairpin H1 that subsequently hybridized with H2. Then, target ssDNA would be replaced from the H1 and recycled to promote another CHA reaction. Through the CHA reaction, multiple H1-H2 duplexes were generated that could not adsorb on the surface of GO. Thus, a strong fluorescence signal would be obtained. The assay showed a limit of detection for emetic B. cereus of 6.2 × 10¹ cfu/mL in pure culture and 5.9 × 10² cfu/mL in spiked milk without enrichment. By changing the PCR primer, the assay developed in this study had potential to detect other bacteria.     

2012—2014年江西省市售婴幼儿配方食品中蜡样芽胞杆菌调查及呕吐毒素基因分析

目的了解2012—2014年江西省市售婴幼儿配方食品中蜡样芽胞杆菌的污染情况并对呕吐毒素基因进行分析。方法在全省市县中选取13个采样点,包括超市、百货商场、便利店、农贸市场、网店、批发市场,随机抽取婴幼儿配方食品397份,对蜡样芽胞杆菌进行检测和鉴定,同时应用叠氮溴化丙锭内参多重PCR方法检测分离株的呕吐毒素基因。结果 397份食品中蜡样芽胞杆菌阳性率为13.10%(52/397),其中2013年阳性率最高。不同采样点的阳性率差异有统计学意义(P0.05),不同产地、不同流通环节和不同年龄段的阳性率差异无统计学意义(P0.05),52份阳性食品中检出呕吐型蜡样芽胞杆菌2份,呕吐毒素阳性率为3.85%。结论江西省市售婴幼儿配方食品中存在蜡样芽胞杆菌及呕吐型蜡样芽胞杆菌的污染,存在一定的安全隐患,相关监管部门应继续加强监管,预防食源性疾病的发生。