Diagnóstico molecular una alternativa para la detección de patógenos en alimentos

Introduction: Foodborne diseases constitute a
health problem in the world, involving products
of animal origin, vegetables, water sources, and
foods ready for consumption. The problem arises
because of the inadequate manipulation of food
and the possibility of transmission of pathogenic
microorganisms, mainly of a bacterial type.
Objective: To describe the different conventional
and molecular diagnostic techniques used in the
food industry.
Material and Methods: A search was carried
though the analysis of review articles, original
articles, and theses during a period of three
months; these articles were written in English,
Portuguese and Spanish. In their content, they
demonstrated the use of conventional and
molecular methodology for the identification of
microorganisms in different types of food.
Results: The conventional methods for the
identification of these microorganisms make use
of well-established protocols and norms, but
require too much time for their identification
and, in some cases, they provide low sensitivity
and specificity. Molecular techniques are
proposed as an alternative for the microbiological
evaluation of food because they are fast,
sensitive and reliable.
Conclusions: Molecular techniques are proposed
as a new and faster alternative for the detection
of microorganisms, reducing the time for the
emission of results from days to hours;
identifying pathogenesis factors, virulence and
drug resistance with only one assemblage, thus
providing high sensitivity and specificity