Original Articles
Vol. 13 No. 2 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.4081/ijfs.2024.12142

Monitoring of bivalve mollusk harvesting areas: the relevance of Salmonella spp.

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Received: 28 November 2023
Accepted: 4 March 2024
Published: 15 March 2024
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Shellfish, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, microbiological monitoring, shellfish harvesting area

Authors

Cesare Ciccarelli
cesare.ciccarelli@sanita.marche.it
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6134-2257
Local Public Health Service Ascoli Piceno, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy.
Angela Marisa Semeraro
Local Public Health Service Ascoli Piceno, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy.
Vittoria Di Trani
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8478-0087
Local Public Health Service Ascoli Piceno, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy.
Guglielmo D’Aurizio
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9274-9485
Regional Public Health Agency of Marche Region, Ancona, Italy.
Giuliana Blasi
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9946-4400
Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Umbria and Marche “Togo Rosati”, Fermo, Italy.
Melina Leinoudi
Chemist, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Cristina De Simoni
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4221-9665
Veterinarian, Campofilone, Italy.
Elena Ciccarelli
Biologist, Reading, United Kingdom.

The microbiological monitoring of bivalve mollusk harvesting areas in the Marche region is based on the parameters of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. However, Regulation EU/2019/627 stated criteria based on E. coli only to determine the health status of these areas. Therefore, the reason for Salmonella spp. monitoring, as provided in the Marche region, could be aimed at reducing the risk of placing on the market contaminated bivalve mollusks. This study, using the results of microbiological monitoring carried out in the Marche region from 2015 to 2022 and the methods based on Bayes’ theorem and Poisson’s distribution, evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of Salmonella spp. monitoring in reducing the risk to the consumer. The results show that i) the use of a single sample unit significantly reduced the possibility of detecting non-compliance with the microbiological safety criterion; ii) the time taken to report positive results (average of approximately 10 days) did not allow the timely implementation of control measures; iii) the prevalence of positive outcomes was quite sporadic: a random trend of positivity is recognizable on a geographical and monthly basis for mussels and a geographical basis for striped clams; iv) considering the predictive value of E. coli against Salmonella spp., the specificity is very high and the negative predictive value versus Salmonella spp. would be >80%. In conclusion, the study shows that the monitoring of Salmonella spp. has a limited effect on reducing the risk to the consumer; however, in the cost/benefit assessment, other aspects not covered by this study should be considered.

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Monitoring of bivalve mollusk harvesting areas: the relevance of Salmonella spp. Ital J Food Safety [Internet]. 2024 Mar. 15 [cited 2026 Mar. 10];13(2). Available from: https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/12142
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