Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41348853›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Development and validation of a quantitative real-time PCR assay for the enumeration of Clostridium sporogenes in NaCl- and nitrite-reduced meat products.

Natalie Schuller, Antonia Kreitlow, Madeleine Plötz, Darleen Röpper, Amir Abdulmawjood

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Natalie SchullerInstitute of Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Hannover, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7424-2550
Antonia KreitlowInstitute of Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Hannover, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9872-5354
Madeleine PlötzInstitute of Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Hannover, Germany.
Darleen RöpperInstitute of Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Hannover, Germany.
Amir AbdulmawjoodInstitute of Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Hannover, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5189-8381

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In the interest of enhancing consumer health and limiting the risks associated with excessive salt consumption and nitrosamine intake, there is an ongoing initiative to reduce the use of salt and nitrite in meat products. Since important microbial barriers are compromised in their capacity to function effectively, NaCl- and nitrite-reduced products also run the risk of increasing the growth of potentially pathogenic microorganisms, such as Clostridium botulinum. In consideration of the necessity to investigate the growth behaviour of the pathogen in sodium chloride (NaCl) - and nitrite-reduced meat products in future challenge tests, a real-time PCR assay was developed and validated for the qualitative and quantitative detection of the C. botulinum surrogate Clostridium sporogenes. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method based on the pelF gene showed a specifity of 100% when tested with bacterial strains of the target species and relevant non-target species. The detection limits in artificially contaminated raw sausages were 8.6 cfu per reaction and 430 cfu/g. The validation of the newly established TaqMan qPCR assay was conducted while investigating the impact of the ripening process and long-term storage of raw sausage with different salt and nitrite contents on the growth of C. sporogenes. The qPCR results were then compared to those of classic cultivation, serving as the reference method for validation. In summary the results of the qPCR showed a good correlation with those of the cultural method for the simulated conditions. However cell counts after ripening were slightly higher, when measured using qPCR. This study presents the successful implementation of a qPCR method for the detection of C. sporogenes in raw sausage and offers a significant opportunity for further research that is required in order to determine the possibilities of reducing salt and nitrite in meat products.

Indexed as

ClostridiumMeat ProductsNitritesReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionSodium ChlorideAnimalsFood MicrobiologyNitritesSodium Chloride

Identifiers

PMID41348853
PMCPMC12680228

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.