Detection: Listeria show resistance to certain disinfectants - In BAV Newsletter 01/2014

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Jun 14, 2017 - Microbiology

Detection: Listeria show resistance to certain disinfectants - In BAV Newsletter 01/2014

The pathogen Listeria monocytogenes has been involved in various outbreaks of food poisoning in recent years and is regularly the cause of product recalls in the food sector. In the past, it was suggested that strains of Listeria monocytogenes could show resistance to certain disinfectants. This primarily concerned agents based on quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC) such as benzalkonium chloride. It has now been possible to determine the responsible DNA sequences for the QAC tolerance of two Listeria strains.
In the examination of 90 more strains of the germ, 10 showed increased tolerance for benzalkonium chloride. The results of the investigations into bacterial resistance to certain disinfectants should be considered both in microbiological quality assurance and contamination control in the production process.