Listeria Contamination in Chocolate: A Case Report

Abstract

A survey was conducted on a branded chocolate bars of company A, which were collected from the local and the nearby places of Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. The samples collected were checked for the presence of microbial growth viz., coliforms, and Enterobacteriaceae. 11 % of the sample showed the presence of microbes in wrapped chocolates. Two isolates were pure cultured, which were further characterized morphologically, biochemically and by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The two isolated were identified as Listeria denitrificans and Kurthia sp. The outgrowth of these pathogenic microorganisms is a matter of great concern as despite taking care all the precautions these microbes have evolved themselves with the capability which enables them to regrow on milk chocolate and can catastrophically affect human body by causing nervous breakdown. Repeated occurrence also highlight it to be used as an indicator in milk/ food industry