Growth and Hemolysin Production Behavior of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Different Food Matrices.

The growth and hemolytic activity profiles of two Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains (ATCC 17802 and ATCC 33847) in shrimp, oyster, freshwater fish, pork, chicken, and egg fried rice were investigated, and a prediction system for accurate microbial risk assessment was developed. The two V. parahaemolyticus strains displayed a similar growth and hemolysin production pattern in the foods at 37°C. Growth kinetic parameters showed that V. parahaemolyticus displayed higher maximum specific growth rate and shorter lag time values in shrimp > freshwater fish > egg fried rice> oyster > chicken > pork. Notably, there was a similar number of V. parahaemolyticus in all of these samples at the stationary phase. The hemolytic activity of V. parahaemolyticus in foods increased linearly with time ( R ² > 0.97). The rate constant ( K) of hemolytic activity was higher in shrimp, oyster, freshwater fish, and egg fried rice than in pork and chicken. Significantly higher hemolytic activity of V. parahaemolyticus was evident in egg fried rice > shrimp > freshwater fish > chicken > oyster > pork. The above-mentioned results indicate that V. parahaemolyticus could grow well regardless of the food type and that contrary to current belief, it displayed a higher hemolytic activity in some nonseafood products (freshwater fish, egg fried rice, and chicken) than in one seafood (oyster). The prediction system consisting of the growth model and hemolysin production algorithm reported here will fill a gap in predictive microbiology and improve significantly the accuracy of microbial risk assessment of V. parahaemolyticus.