Comparison of three artificial digestion methods for detection of non-encapsulated Trichinella pseudospiralis larvae in pork

• Published in: Veterinary parasitology 2009-02, Vol.159 (3-4), p.341-344
• Main Authors: Nöckler, K., Reckinger, S., Szabó, I., Maddox-Hyttel, C., Pozio, E., van der Giessen, J., Vallée, I., Boireau, P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: accuracy; Animals; Clinical Laboratory Techniques - veterinary; Consumer Product Safety; detection; food contamination; Food Parasitology; in vitro digestion; laboratories; laboratory techniques; Larva; larvae; Magnetic stirrer method; Meat - parasitology; meat inspection; methodology; pork; precision; Quality Control; quantitative analysis; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Stomacher method; Swine; Trichinella - isolation & purification; Trichinella pseudospiralis; Trichomatic 35; validity
• ISSN: 0304-4017; 1873-2550
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.10.075

In a ring trial involving five laboratories (A, B, C, D, and E), three different methods of artificial digestion were compared for the detection of non-encapsulated Trichinella pseudospiralis larvae in minced meat. Each sample panel consisted of ten 1g minced pork samples. All samples in each panel were derived from a bulk meat preparation with a nominal value of either 7 or 17 larvae per g (lpg). Samples were tested for the number of muscle larvae using the magnetic stirrer method (labs A, B, and E), stomacher method (lab B), and Trichomatic 35® (labs C and D). T. pseudospiralis larvae were found in all 120 samples tested. For samples with 7lpg, larval recoveries were significantly higher using the stomacher method versus the magnetic stirrer method, but there were no significant differences for samples with 17lpg. In comparing laboratory results irrespective of the method used, lab B detected a significantly higher number of larvae than lab E for samples with 7lpg, and lab E detected significantly less larvae than labs A, B, and D in samples with 17lpg. The lowest overall variation for quantitative results (i.e. larval recoveries which were outside the tolerance range) was achieved by using the magnetic stirrer method (22%), followed by the stomacher method (25%), and Trichomatic 35® (30%). Results revealed that T. pseudospiralis larvae in samples with a nominal value of 7 and 17lpg can be detected by all three methods of artificial digestion.