INCIDENCE OF LISTERIA SPP. IN BRETON LIVE SHELLFISH

Live shellfish samples (120) mere collected from nine littoral sites i n Brittany (western France). They were screened for Listeria spp. and a count of faecal coliforms was carried out. Analysis of the results r evealed Listeria spp. in 55% of samples, a much higher rate than the p revious, infrequent, recorded data. Furthermore, the study demonstrate d that the frequency of Listeria spp. in winter was more important tha n in summer (P < 0.001), and underlined a significant relationship bet ween the occurrence of these bacteria and the concentration of faecal coliforms (P < 0.001). Finally, comparison of the official and Gen-Pro be(R) methods revealed the limits of the standardized technique in the search for L. monocytogenes in shellfish.