Survival of Listeria monocytogenes in frozen burger patties

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen which has caused outbreaks in several nations in which processed meats were the vehicle. The purpose of this study were to determine the prevalence of L. monocytogenes from frozen burger patties, assess the characteristics of the L. monocytogenes strains isolated from burger patties, and determine the effect of different cooking time in decontamination of L. monocytogenes in chicken burger patties. A total of 220 samples were purchased from hypermarkets and retail shops in Malaysia from June to October 2009. Prevalence of L. monocytogenes in burger patties from this study was found to be 15.9%, in which the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in meat-based burger patties (22.3%) is significantly higher than vegetarian burger patties (9.3%) at P