Evaluation of real-time PCR coupled with immunomagnetic separation or centrifugation for the detection of healthy and sanitizer-injured Salmonella spp. on mung bean sprouts

• PCR-IMS and PCR-cen were evaluated for Salmonella detection for mung bean sprouts.
• PCR-IMS and PCR-cen showed similar LOD, which was more sensitive than PCR alone.
• Enrichment of 10 h was sufficient to detect Salmonella on sprouts by both methods.
• PCR-cen might be more cost-effective over PCR-IMS for rapid Salmonella detection.

Fresh mung bean sprouts have been identified as a source of many Salmonella outbreaks worldwide. The aim of this study was to develop a rapid and accurate detection methodology for low levels of healthy and sanitizer-injured Salmonella on mung bean sprouts using real-time PCR coupled with either immunomagnetic separation (PCR-IMS) or centrifugation (PCR-cen). Initially, three parameters of IMS; specificity/sensitivity, bacterial concentration and bead incubation time were optimized. Secondly, limit of detection (LOD) was determined for the optimized PCR-IMS and PCR-cen. These two methods were compared against PCR alone (PCR) and the standard culture method (ISO) for their ability to detect Salmonella using inoculated and uninoculated sprouts. Under optimum IMS conditions (105 CFU/ml for 30 min), capture efficiency of Salmonella in sprout suspensions was lower than 40%, most probably due to the non-specific binding of the background microbiota. PCR-IMS and PCR-cen had a similar LOD at 103 CFU/ml, which was one log unit lower than PCR. Enrichment of 10 h was sufficient to detect 100% of the inoculated sprouts with both PCR-IMS and PCR-cen, which was significantly faster compared to PCR and the ISO method. Moreover, the validation study using uninoculated sprouts revealed that PCR-IMS and PCR-cen were equally effective on Salmonella detection, showing 98.3% accuracy. These results suggest that PCR-cen would be the effective and less costly method for the detection of both healthy and sanitizer-injured Salmonella on mung bean sprouts.