Survival and growth of salmonella in high-moisture pecan nutmeats; in-shell pecans; inedible nut components; and orchard soil

Outbreaks of salmonellosis associated with almonds have raised interest in better understanding the behavior of Salmonella on other tree nuts. We undertook a study to determine the survival and growth characteristics of Salmonella on high-moisture (water activity of 0.96 to 0.99) pecan nutmeats; in-shell pecans; and inedible components (shuck; shell; and middle septum tissue) of […]

Most-probable-number determination of salmonella levels in naturally contaminated raw almonds using two sample preparation methods

Pathogens occurring in particulate foods may be unevenly distributed; which may impact interpretation of most-probable-number (MPN) values. The MPN analysis of Salmonella in naturally contaminated raw almonds was conducted using two sample preparation methods. Raw almond kernels (3;698 samples) and inshell almonds (455 samples) were collected from almond processors throughout California during the 2006 and […]