Traditional cultural methods for the detection of Salmonella in foods is a labour-intensive and time-consuming, taking 4 to 5 days for the final results to be known. Therefore, simplified and rapid methods are required for both diagnosis of foodborne diseases and microbiological food quality control. The aim of this study was to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of Salmonella Enteritidis in foods. The assay used a polyclonal detector antibody to flagelin raised in rabbit. The anti-sera obtained showed slight cross-reactions to others Salmonella serotypes and Enterobacteriaceae species tested. The method sensitivity was of 10(4) cells/mL of pure culture. The horseradish peroxidase conjugate was stable up to two months at 4ºC and for this reason it should be used only during this period. The method also showed sensitivity of 1 cell per 25g of potato and carrot salad containing home-made mayonnaise by using only a cultural stage in buffered peptone water incubated for 24 hours at 37°C. In conclusion, the method showed to be practical and reliable to detect Salmonella Enteritidis in foods.
Salmonella Enteritidis; ELISA; rapid detection
