HYGIENIC-SANITARY ASPECT OF ARTISAN AND INDUSTRIAL ICE CREAMS: ANALYSIS OF GENETIC VARIABILITY AND OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN ESCHERICHIA COLI ISOLATES

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary aspect of artisan and industrial ice creams and to analyze genetic variability and antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli isolates. Methods: Twenty-seven ice cream samples were purchased, detecting total coliforms at 30-35 °C by fermentation in multiple tubes. The positive tubes were inoculated in EC broth and in SS agar for the detection of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp, respectively. To antimicrobial tests, the disk diffusion technique was used, discriminating levels of resistance. Genetic variability was diagnosed by the RAPD-PCR and ERIC-PCR techniques through the degree of polymorphism determined by the band pattern. Results and Discussion: From the microbiological samples, there was positivity for E. coli (48%) and Salmonella spp (22%). The antimicrobial resistance tests in E. coli diagnosed resistance to 85% of the obtained samples, and of these, 34% were multiresistant. A high degree of polymorphism was found in the RAPD-PCR and ERIC-PCR assays, demonstrating the great genetic variability among the bacteria. Conclusion: The samples presented unsatisfactory conditions, offering risks to consumers' health. The antibiotic sensitivity test expressed resistance and multiresistance, while the RAPD-PCR and ERIC-PCR assays indicated great genetic variability among the bacteria, considering multiple sources of contamination. Therefore, measures to control contamination prevention are considered important. DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2017.26754