Incidence, internalization and behavior of Salmonella in mangoes, var. Tommy Atkins Maria Emília Branquinho Bordini, Christiane Asturiano Ristori ¤ , Miyoko Jakabi, Dilma Scala Gelli Seção de Microbiologia Alimentar, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, SP AV. Dr. Arnaldo no. 355, Cerqueira César, São Paulo, CEP: 01246-902, SP, Brazil Abstract Mangoes imported from South America were responsible for two Salmonella multistate outbreaks in the USA. The hot water immer- sion treatment utilized for Xy larvae control was pointed out as the probably responsible for bacterial internalization in these fruits. The objective of this study was to evaluate: the presence of Salmonella in mangoes, the occurrence of internalization of these bacteria during a laboratory-simulated hydrothermal treatment and the bacterial behavior in mangoes in the rind surfaces and in diVerent portions: stem end, middle side and blossom-end after storage at 8 and 22 °C, for 24 and 144 h. One hundred samples were analyzed; Salmonella was not found in any of the 33 samples destined for the export market, but in two of the remaining samples, destined for the internal market, the presence of that bacterium was detected. The results from the laboratory-simulated experiments proved that bacterial internalization occurred in the intact fruit. In the stem portion the log of MPN/g of bacteria was statistically higher than in the remaining parts of the fruit (p < 0.05), demonstrating that the stem is the route for bacterial entrance. At 22 °C bacterial multiplication was observed in all por- tions (the rind surface, stem end, middle side and blossom-end) analyzed. However, at 8 °C the growth was lower, and in the rind surface there was a decrease in the number of bacteria. Thus, microorganisms present in the water used for hydrothermal treatments can migrate to the interior of mangoes, survive and grow in all fruit portions. Keywords: Mangoes; Internalization; Salmonella; Growth 1. Introduction Recently, fresh produces have been incriminated in sev- eral food poisoning outbreaks by bacteria. Fruits and vege- tables are less frequently implicated as vehicles of Salmonella spp. than other type of food. However, there have been reports of outbreaks caused by apple, water- melon, lettuce, melon, mango and tomato consumption (Brackett, 1999; NACMF, 1999). The Wrst salmonellosis documented outbreak triggered by consumption of in natura mangoes occurred in 1999, in 13 states of the USA, involving 78 people and two deaths, S. Newport being the serovar isolated (Sivapalasingam et al., 2003). In 2001 another multistate outbreak occurred in USA., triggered by the consumption of mangoes, this time caused by S. Saint Paul. In the two cases, the mangoes were imported from South America (Brazil and Peru respec- tively) and the epidemiological investigation pointed to the water utilized in the hydrothermal treatment as the respon- sible for the contamination of the fruits (Beatty, LaPorte, Phan, Van Duyne, & Braden, 2004). Fruits that are destined for the export market pass through post-harvest treatments that vary according to the requirements of the importing country. In the case of the USA, mangoes should receive a hot water immersion treat- ment for elimination of larvae of Xies; it consists of a thermal *