Occurrence and Levels of Salmonella, Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, and Listeria in Raw Wheat

IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group together with The WhiteWave Foods Company and ConAgra Foods, Inc. conducted a baseline study to create a baseline of the prevalence and levels of pathogens in wheat samples taken before milling. A total of 5,176 wheat samples were tested for enterohemorrhagic Escherichia, coli (EHEC), Salmonella spp., Listeria spp., and L. monocytogenes. 3,891 samples were tested for E. coli and Salmonella, and 1,285 were tested for Listeria. Salmonella was detected in 1.23% of the samples (average count of 0.110 cfu/g), EHECs occurred in 0.44% of the samples (0.039 cfu/g), and Listeria spp. occurred in 0.08% of samples (0.020 cfu/g), but L. monocytogenes was not detected. The data shows that contamination is coming from many sources, and raw flour is likely to be contaminated with pathogens. Therefore, it is best to cook wheat products as a measure against pathogens. @ https://jfoodprotection.org/doi/abs/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-18-345