Survival of Shigella sonnei on smooth tomato surfaces, in potato salad and in raw ground beef

This study investigated the survival of a five-strain Shigella sonnei cocktail on smooth tomato surfaces, in potato salad and in raw ground beef. All inocula were resistant to the antibiotic rifampicin to allow simple detection of the target culture among the indigenous microflora of the food samples. Inoculated tomatoes were stored at 13 °C/85% relative humidity, the standard holding conditions for mature, green tomatoes. Inoculated potato salad and ground beef samples were stored at 2.5 °C and 8.0 °C to study the effects of varied refrigerated temperatures. Surviving populations were estimated using a three-tube most probable number (MPN) method. Tryptic soy broth tubes supplemented with 100 ppm rifampicin were inoculated with appropriate dilutions of the recovered inocula and scored for growth after overnight enrichment. S. sonnei populations declined rapidly to undetectable levels (2 days) when dried on smooth surfaces of tomatoes. S. sonnei populations did not decrease in potato salad and ground beef stored at 2.5 °C and 8.0 °C over the shelf-life of the products.