ELIMINATION OF Arcobacter butzleri AND Helicobacter pylori FROM SOME FOODS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN BY GAMMA IRRADIATION

The prevalence of Arcobacter butzleri and Helicobacter pylori in some foods of animal origin and the possibility of their elimination by irradiation was studied. A. butzleri was isolated from 60 % of 20 whole chicken carcasses, 16.7 % of 24 ground beef samples, 40 % of 40 bolti fish samples and 45.5 % of 44 catfish samples. Meanwhile, H. pylori was not isolated from samples. Fresh samples of chicken breasts, ground beef, bolti fish fillets and catfish fillets were radiation sterilized and inoculated with A. butzleri or H. pylori at initial levels of 107 cfu/ g. Then samplers were irradiated at doses of 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 kGy at room temperature and the survival of these pathogens was examined post treatments and during storage at 4 ±1 °C for 7 days. Irradiation at doses up to 1.5 kGy significantly decreased the counts of these pathogens, proportionally to the applied dose. Refrigerated storage had no significant effects on the counts of A. butzleri in control samples and those survived irradiation doses up to 1.5 kGy, whereas significantly decreased the counts of H. pylori. No colony forming units were observed for these pathogens in samples irradiated at dose of 2 kGy or above. The average D10 values were 0.26 and 0.28 kGy for A. butzleri and H. pylori, respectively. Therefore, irradiation at doses approved for treatment of fresh foods of animal origin may effectively eliminate the naturally present A. butzleri and H. pylori and prevent their possible hazards.