Detection of Escherichia coli across food samples in Homs

Twenty plant and animal food samples were collected from different commercial stores. These samples were placed in a sterilezed plastic bags not to be polluted and were moved to the laboratory in special thermal containers to be tested. The solid samples were processed in the Digester to study each sample separately , while the liquid samples were tested immediately after being diluted. After that they were studied with biochemical tests to identify the type of germ that existed.

Comparison between FTIR-ATR technique and traditional methods in discrimination of Bacillus isolates from some foods

Forty-five Bacillus isolates were obtained from different foods (spices, grains, dried milk), the isolates were identified using traditional method from Bergey's manual based on morphological tests (gram staining, spores staining), physiological tests (optimum growth temperature, pH, NaCl concentration) and biochemical tests (Voges-Proskauer, gelatin hydrolysis, esculin hydrolysis, β- Galactosidase test, Lysine decarboxylase and Ornithine decarboxylase, production of acid from different sugars). Bacterial suspensions were prepared from the isolates and FTIR spectrums were obtained using ATR unit, which consists of ZnSe prism, by scanning at the range of 4000-400 cm-1. Results revealed that the isolates represented 5 species of Bacillus (B. pumilus, B. subtilis, B. lentus, B. megaterium, B. cereus) and the potential of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) method as a reliable method for discrimination among Bacillus isolates, which is accurate, rapid, easy to apply and cheap.

Detection of Klebsiella spp. in Some Spices Taken from Local Markets

Spices are becoming increasingly important world-wide due to their effectiveness as natural antibiotics, the thing that makes the world nowadays tend to use spices instead of chemical drugs. However, this doesn’t mean they are free of some dangerous pathogens such as Klebsiella spp. which can lead to a wide range of illnesses, notably pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTIs), and bacteremia. Although we don’t know the natural habitat of this bacterium we find that it thrives in herbs and spices, concluding thus that plants may be its natural habitat. The primary isolation of this bacterium was based first on its growth on general media and then isolation on selective media. Colonies of the microorganisms were counted on different media then Klebsiella was isolated from a selective media. The isolated colonies of Klebsiella were circular, dome-shaped, 3-4 mm in diameter, with mucoid sticky edges, and surrounded by capsule. After this we chose the typical colony and identified it using Polymerase chain reaction PCR and biochemical tests. Our results showed that 32% of examined specimen contained Klebsiella spp.

Isolation of Enterobacter sakazakii from Some Spices

Enterobacter sakazakii is considered an opportunistic pathogen that has been associated with severe lethal infections especially in neonates, elderly, and Immunocompromised adults. E. sakazakii is a Gram negative, facultative anaerobes rod-shaped bacterium. It belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae and genus Enterobacter. Although we don’t know the natural habitat of this bacteria we find that it exists in high rate in herbs and spices which indicates that plant may be this natural habitat.