Acid tolerance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and its survival in apple juice

Lisa Koodie, Arvind M. Dhople

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

Outbreaks of diarrhoea and haemolytic uraemic syndrome have been associated with the consumption of apple cider and apple juice. The organism implicated in these outbreaks has been Escherichia coli O157:H7, indicating the resistance of the serotype to acidic pH. On comparing the growth of this serotype with a control strain of E. coli, it was found that strain O157:H7 grew well in trypticase soy broth at pH levels ranging from 2.0 to 9.0, while control strains failed to grow at pH levels below 4.0 and above 9.0. The growth of both strains were inhibited by adding 0.05% of either benzoic acid or sorbic acid. Similarly, O157:H7 grew well in both natural (unpasteurized) as well as in pasteurized apple juice and the growth was inhibited by adding 0.1% of either benzoic acid or sorbic acid. Control strains of E. coli failed to grow in either types of apple juice. The possible sources of contamination of natural apple juice with O157:H7 serotype are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)167-175
Number of pages9
JournalMicrobios
Volume104
Issue number409
StatePublished - 2001

Keywords

  • Apple juice
  • Benzoate
  • Escherichia coli
  • Growth
  • Sorbate

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