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Environmental Microbiology

Evaluation of Physical Coverings Used To Control Escherichia coli O157:H7 at the Compost Heap Surface

Marion W. Shepherd Jr., Jinkyung Kim, Xiuping Jiang, Michael P. Doyle, Marilyn C. Erickson
Marion W. Shepherd Jr.
1Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0314
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Jinkyung Kim
2Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0316
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Xiuping Jiang
2Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0316
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  • For correspondence: xiuping@clemson.edu
Michael P. Doyle
3Center for Food Safety, The University of Georgia, Griffin, Georgia 30223-1797
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Marilyn C. Erickson
3Center for Food Safety, The University of Georgia, Griffin, Georgia 30223-1797
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DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02940-10
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    Fig. 1.

    Schematic depicting dimensions of compost heaps covered with finished compost.

  • Fig. 2.
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    Fig. 2.

    Survival of E. coli O157:H7 at the interface between the physical coverings and newly formed composting heaps in trial 1 (A), trial 2 (B), trial 3 (C), and trial 4 (D). Each data point is the average of four replicates.

Tables

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  • Table 1.

    Initial abiotic and biotic parameters of the composting heapsa

    TrialTrial datesC/N ratioMoisture content (%)Mesophiles (log CFU/g)Thermophiles (log CFU/g)E. coli O157:H7b
    1April to August 200819.41 ± 1.3963.16 ± 3.047.84 ± 0.027.49 ± 0.18−
    2August to December 200815.74 ± 0.5963.57 ± 1.407.66 ± 0.057.07 ± 0.04−
    3June to August 200924.81 ± 0.6660.14 ± 0.857.80 ± 0.077.33 ± 0.06−
    4February to April 201027.24 ± 1.9267.87 ± 0.727.71 ± 0.147.06 ± 0.12−
    • ↵a Values are means ± standard deviations.

    • ↵b −, sample was negative after enrichment culture.

  • Table 2.

    Combined internal and interface temperature data during composting

    TrialTreatmentInterfacebInternal
    TypeaThickness (cm)Cover moisture (%)Max temp (°C)No. of days with temp ≥45°CMax temp (°C)No. of days with temp ≥50°C
    1Ctrl0N/A330558
    Hay12.5941055.58
    FC153048655.59
    155042.5055.59
    3030410539
    3050400539
    2Ctrl0N/A37057.512
    Hay12.5945356.512
    FC153050135612
    15504765612
    303048.5956.512
    305047.5656.512
    3Ctrl0N/A37052.59
    Hay12.5938.5051.59
    FC1530465529
    1550466529
    30304665210
    30504885210
    4Ctrl0N/A2705610
    Hay12.5927.5055.511
    FC15304665710
    155048.5105710
    303050.575610
    305052.595610
    • ↵a Ctrl, control; FC, finished compost.

    • ↵b Where the surface of the newly formed compost heap met the FC or straw being used as the physical covering.

  • Table 3.

    Survival of Enterobacteriaceae in uncovered compost heap samples

    TrialaNo. of Enterobacteriaceae (log CFU/g of compost) after indicated days of composting
    0135714213060120b
    17.93 ± 0.007.70 ± 0.037.25 ± 0.106.88 ± 0.156.83 ± 0.175.67 ± 0.044.20 ± 0.135.01 ± 0.034.53 ± 0.055.13 ± 0.10
    28.00 ± 0.006.96 ± 0.056.07 ± 0.037.10 ± 0.037.13 ± 0.146.53 ± 0.057.94 ± 0.074.97 ± 0.034.65 ± 0.075.03 ± 0.10
    37.68 ± 0.006.22 ± 0.146.23 ± 0.265.15 ± 0.225.13 ± 0.043.03 ± 0.094.35 ± 0.254.35 ± 0.135.11 ± 0.25NA
    47.64 ± 0.007.76 ± 0.118.18 ± 0.027.10 ± 0.106.71 ± 0.106.74 ± 0.206.37 ± 0.266.60 ± 0.304.62 ± 0.20NA
    • ↵a Greater than 5 mm of precipitation occurred on days 2, 22, 32, 45, 64, 91, 115, and 116 of composting in trial 1, on days 10, 19, 20, 22, 62, 77, and 117 in trial 2, on days 2, 3, 19, and 54 in trial 3, and on days 1, 10, 19, 27, 28, 29, 38, 45, and 56 in trial 4.

    • ↵b NA, not applicable.

  • Table 4.

    P values with potential correlation between E. coli O157:H7 and Enterobacteriaceae populations in compost samples

    TreatmentaTreatment thickness (cm)Treatment MC (%)P value for survival in composting trialb:
    1234
    Ctrl0NAc0.01550.17940.0027<0.001
    Hay12.590.10070.80140.0111<0.001
    FC15300.28000.83630.73900.7672
    15500.60120.90760.21240.7725
    30300.14630.87740.40510.0908
    30500.10500.93510.51060.7311
    • ↵a Ctrl, control; FC, finished compost.

    • ↵b A P of >0.05 indicates that there was no significant difference between the survival of Enterobacteriaceae and that of E. coli O157:H7.

    • ↵c NA, not applicable.

Additional Files

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  • Supplemental material

    Files in this Data Supplement:

    • Supplemental file 1 - pHs and moisture contents of compost heap samples (Table S1), bulk density and moisture content of finished compost coverings applied to heaps in trial 4 (Table S2), slopes of the log-linear reduction portions of the E. coli O157:H7 survival curves (Table S3), and composting days necessary for a 5-log reduction of Enterobacteriaceae (Table S4).
      MS Word document, 170K.
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Evaluation of Physical Coverings Used To Control Escherichia coli O157:H7 at the Compost Heap Surface
Marion W. Shepherd Jr., Jinkyung Kim, Xiuping Jiang, Michael P. Doyle, Marilyn C. Erickson
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Jul 2011, 77 (14) 5044-5049; DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02940-10

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Evaluation of Physical Coverings Used To Control Escherichia coli O157:H7 at the Compost Heap Surface
Marion W. Shepherd Jr., Jinkyung Kim, Xiuping Jiang, Michael P. Doyle, Marilyn C. Erickson
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Jul 2011, 77 (14) 5044-5049; DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02940-10
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  • Top
  • Article
    • ABSTRACT
    • TEXT
    • Field study setup.
    • Compost sample preparation, sampling schedule, and temperature measurements.
    • Detection of E. coli O157:H7 and Enterobacteriaceae in the compost samples.
    • Statistical analyses.
    • Compost heap construction and initial parameters.
    • Temperatures and sample moisture contents at the surfaces under the physical coverings and inside the compost heaps.
    • Survival of E. coli O157:H7 at the surface or interface of compost heaps.
    • Enterobacteriaceae populations in compost surface samples.
    • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    • FOOTNOTES
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

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