METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS DETECTION AND QUANTIFICATION OF Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., AND SHIGA TOXIN-PRODUCING Escherichia coli (STEC)

Abstract

The invention refers to a method for simultaneous detection and quantification of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), from any kind of sample related to food production, including complex food matrices such as fish, meat, or fruit; or simple matrices such as water, or food contact surfaces. The method of invention allows specific quantification of the above-mentioned pathogens simultaneously thanks to specificity of designed primers for the qPCR reaction. It is also highly reliable because the method includes a system to adequately control the quantification of pathogens within the matrix. This system comprises the inoculation of samples with a known concentration of a transformed microorganism (host) carrying a chimeric sequence, acting as an internal control host for the whole process.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.