Occurrence, persistence and pathogenic potential of Bacillus cereus sensu lato strains isolated during processing of two plant-based desserts
Abstract
Ensuring the microbiological safety of plant-based foods is challenging, particularly during the development of new products. This study aimed to map and identify Bacillus cereus sensu lato (s.l.) contaminants during the production of two plant-based desserts: one fermented and one non-fermented, in order to identify critical processing stages. A bacterial survey was conducted along the processing line of each dessert and 120 product samples were collected from raw materials, processing stages, and during product storage. Total bacterial counts ranged from <2.0 to 10.1 Log 10 CFU/g during processing while mesophilic spore counts varied between <2.0 and 2.5 ± 0.7 Log 10 CFU/g. Thermophilic and B. cereus s.l. spores remained below the detection limit (2.0 Log 10 CFU/g). A selective enrichment demonstrated that B. cereus s.l. was present during all steps of both processes. In total, 127 isolates were recovered from ingredients, processing steps and conditioned products. Analysis assigned these isolates to phylogenetic groups II, III, IV and VII, with group IV strains being the most prevalent. Several strains persisted throughout processing, indicating their resilience to technological treatments. Approximately 60 % of the isolates carried the enterotoxin gene combination hbl-nhe-cytK, whereas the emetic ces gene was detected only once. B. cereus s.l. growth was observed in the non-fermented dessert when storage temperatures reached 10 • C during 20 days, but no growth was detected in the fermented product. These findings provide insights into contamination pathways and the persistence of B. cereus s.l. during processing, which will help to design safe processing conditions for plant-based dairy alternatives.
Related
- Complementary Genomic and Functional Potential of Bacillus subtilis RKM-1 and Bacillus licheniformis RKM-2 for Organic Waste Bioconversion and Composting
- Genomic and metabolomic characterization of Bacillus velezensis CMC-6 reveals biocontrol potential against potato Fusarium Wilt
- Semantic ambiguity dissociates the roles of word meaning and co-occurrence statistics in sentence processing
- Noncytotoxic bacterial nano-melanin with immense cosmetic potential produced by Bacillus infantis isolated from salt pans of Marakkanam, Tamil Nadu, India
- Molecular and environmental indicators of Listeria monocytogenes persistence in food processing facilities: a multi sector approach
BibTeX
@article{zanetti2026occurrence,
title = {{Occurrence, persistence and pathogenic potential of Bacillus cereus sensu lato strains isolated during processing of two plant-based desserts}},
author = {Marine Zanetti and Marie-Hélène Guinebretière and Stéphanie Oriol and Fanny Canon and Isabelle Souchon and Véronique Broussolle},
journal = {Food Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.fm.2026.105303},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05762007v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Occurrence, persistence and pathogenic potential of Bacillus cereus sensu lato strains isolated during processing of two plant-based desserts
AU - Marine Zanetti
AU - Marie-Hélène Guinebretière
AU - Stéphanie Oriol
AU - Fanny Canon
AU - Isabelle Souchon
AU - Véronique Broussolle
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Food Microbiology
DO - 10.1016/j.fm.2026.105303
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05762007v1
AB - Ensuring the microbiological safety of plant-based foods is challenging, particularly during the development of new products. This study aimed to map and identify Bacillus cereus sensu lato (s.l.) contaminants during the production of two plant-based desserts: one fermented and one non-fermented, in order to identify critical processing stages. A bacterial survey was conducted along the processing line of each dessert and 120 product samples were collected from raw materials, processing stages, and during product storage. Total bacterial counts ranged from <2.0 to 10.1 Log 10 CFU/g during processing while mesophilic spore counts varied between <2.0 and 2.5 ± 0.7 Log 10 CFU/g. Thermophilic and B. cereus s.l. spores remained below the detection limit (2.0 Log 10 CFU/g). A selective enrichment demonstrated that B. cereus s.l. was present during all steps of both processes. In total, 127 isolates were recovered from ingredients, processing steps and conditioned products. Analysis assigned these isolates to phylogenetic groups II, III, IV and VII, with group IV strains being the most prevalent. Several strains persisted throughout processing, indicating their resilience to technological treatments. Approximately 60 % of the isolates carried the enterotoxin gene combination hbl-nhe-cytK, whereas the emetic ces gene was detected only once. B. cereus s.l. growth was observed in the non-fermented dessert when storage temperatures reached 10 • C during 20 days, but no growth was detected in the fermented product. These findings provide insights into contamination pathways and the persistence of B. cereus s.l. during processing, which will help to design safe processing conditions for plant-based dairy alternatives.
SN - 0740-0020
SN - 1095-9998
ER -