Viability of micro-organisms involved in outbreaks of bacterial food borne diseases in dry extruded pet food

This study analyzed the viability of the main micro-organisms involved in outbreaks of bacterial food borne diseases together with two fungal strains experimentally inoculated into six different commercial dry extruded pet foods during six months. Growth of all micro-organisms analyzed decreased along the experimental period, indicating that dry extruded pet food is not an adequate substrate for microbial development and it is safe as pet food since most pathogenic micro-organisms did not adapt to this substrate. However, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium) remained viable for six months even in coexistence with other micro-organisms. Viability of the different micro-organisms showed significant differences depending on the levels of fat and acid in the kibble coating. These results indicate that the kibbles characteristics could help to predict the dynamics of microbial contamination. © 2008 Asian Network for Scientific Information.