Growth variability of selected Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains isolated from seafood

Abstract

The aim of this study was to quantify the growth and assess the variability of V. parahaemolyticus strains isolated from seafood. A total of 35 V. parahaemolyticus strains were assessed, and their maximum specific growth rate (µmax) was estimated by the Time-to-Detection Method by regression analysis using the Generalized Reduced Gradient algorithm. The highest µmax (h-1) value was 2.33 for V. parahaemolyticus isolated from Atlantic salmon, followed by 2.30 for Mediterranean horse mackerel and European seabass, 2.26 for Mediterranean mussels, 2.20 for veined rapa whelk, 1.88 for the pandemic strain O3:K6, 1.57 for oysters, 1.43 for bluefish, and 1.29 for Gilthead bream. This study provides useful information for the quantitative characterisation of V. parahaemolyticus growth, which can be a main input for microbial exposure assessments.