Proposal for a new standard of faecal contamination indicator: Bifidobacterium

Micro-organisms of the genus Bifidobacterium are some of the most common micro-organisms in the human and animal intestinal tract. Bifidobacterium species are well known for their beneficial effects on the microflora. In this article, the interest for this microorganism is other. If this microorganism is found at different stages of the processing line, it indicates often a contamination of this processing line. An other characteristic is that Bifidobacterium species are different according to the host. It could be possible to determine the contamination origin (human or animal). That is an advantage over other bacteria such as the actual faecal contamination indicator, Escherichia coli. The aim of this project is to develop a test, using molecular genetic tools, to rapidly detect the most important Bifidobacterium species in food. If we know the contamination sources, the critical points will be pointed out and the control measures will be better