Salmonella is known as one of the main factors of food-borne gastroenteritis, and with this feature, it poses a great risk in terms of public health and economic losses. It is estimated that of the approximately 94 million cases of salmonellosis occurring in the world each year (about 85 percent of these are food-borne), an average of 150,000 result in death. Current social trends highlight the important health benefits of fresh produce in our daily diet. As an irony; Uncooked consumption of fresh herbal products is increasingly identified as a source of transmission for pathogens of intestinal origin, and epidemics occurring in this way are spreading rapidly. Today, the frequency of anthropogenic pathogen outbreaks associated with fresh produce, spices, and nuts has surpassed those associated with foods of animal origin. Human pathogens in the production chain; It can be transferred to plant material by basic means such as the use of animal manure, contaminated irrigation water, biological vectors (insects and animals) and contaminated seeds. In the light of these data, many intestinal pathogens have been identified as phyllo sphere-associated bacteria. Despite all these findings, there are many unknowns on the persistence and infectivity of Salmonella in contaminated plant hosts. In this review article, the factors affecting the attachment, colonization and survival of Salmonella on plant surfaces, as well as the information on the infection processes that continue with the invasion of plant tissues are discussed in the light of contemporary literature data.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the thermal resistance of acid adapted and non-adapted stationary phase Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes in pomegranate juice. In addition, the performance of generic E. coli was evaluated as an indicator. Non-adapted stationary phase cells were grown by incubating inoculated tryptic soy broth without glucose (TSB-NG) at 36±1°C for 18±2 hours. Tryptic soy broth with 1% glucose (10 g/l; TSBG) was used for acid adaptation. All media used for L. monocytogenes was supplemented with 0.6% yeast extract. After washing the cells with peptone, 5 ml of pasteurized pomegranate juice was added onto the pellet to obtain inoculated juice with a initial concentration of 107-1010 log CFU/ml. Inoculated pomegranate juice was sealed into the microcapillary tubes. Microtubes were heat treated in waterbaths at 50, 52 and 54±1°C by immersing at pre-determined time intervals. Survived populations were counted on tryptic soy agar (TSA). S. Typhimurium had the lowest thermal resistance in pomegranate juice. At 50°C, E. coli O157:H7 was the most resistant, whereas L. monocytogenes was more thermally tolerant at 52 and 54°C. Acid adaptation decreased the thermal resistance of E. coli O157:H7, but increased the heat resistance of L. monocytogenes at all tested temperatures significantly. Thermal tolerance of S. Typhimurium increased only at 50°C. The most resistant microorganism was non-adapted generic E. coli at 50 and 52°C; acid-adapted L. monocytogenes had the most thermal tolerance at 54°C. Thermal inactivation of microorganisms in pomegranate juice could be tested at lower temperatures compare to other fruit juices. This may be due to the natural antimicrobial effect and more acidic content of pomegranate juice.

The studies on phage applications that provide successful results in biocontrol of foodborne pathogens and offer an environmentally friendly approach have been increasing today. Phages are viruses that can infect and kill the specific target bacterial cell. Salmonella is one of the most important pathogenic microorganisms that leading causes of food-borne illnesses called salmonellosis. Meat products especially chicken meat, fresh eggs, dairy products, ready-to-eat foods, seafood products and all kinds of contaminated food can be cause of salmonellosis. In this review, the phage application studies to control of Salmonella in food systems were summarized taking into account the research studied in recent years.

A survey of the occurrence of food pathogens like Salmonella, Listeria, Escherichia, Clostridium, Bacillus and Staphylococcus analyses were performed on 301 food samples from 8 different food categories such as dry legumes, milk products, meat products, fish, frozen foods, deserts, nuts and vegetables and fruits. Yeast and mold analyses were also performed on 364 food products from 9 main food categories such as dry legumes, milk products, meat products, seasonings, deserts, nuts, bee products, bakery products and dried fruits produced in Turkey. S. aureus and Salmonella were the most prevalent (1.33%) of the six isolated pathogens. The species Cl. perfringens, L. monocytogenes and B. cereus were detected with the ratios of 1.00%, 0.66% and 0.66%, respectively. Total yeast and molds occurrence were 1.65% and 9.06%, respectively. Pathogens were detected in cream cheese, spinach, strawberry and cod fish most prevalently, whereas dried fig, chilli pepper, hazelnut and bakery products were determined as foods prone to the growth of molds. The results of this study suggest that faecal contamination of water needs to be prevented, and the production and storage conditions of food materials should be improved. These findings have implications for the use of these surveillance data in developing evidence-based food policy.