Foodborne diseases are a widespread and growing public health problem affecting both developed and indeveloping countries the percentage of the population suffering from foodborne diseases each year could be up to 30% in industrialized countries and figures could be even worse in developing countries . Nucleic acid based amplification techniques (PCR) has been so far the most extensively employed, offer several advantages over the classical microbiological methods such as shorter time of analysis, low detection limits, specificity and potential for automation. Although several etiological agents can be transmitted through food and water consumption,Salmonella spp, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coliO157:H7 are considered among the most relevant foodborne pathogens. During the last few years international standards have been agreed on the use of PCR for the detection of foodborne pathogens. Multiplex PCR methods have been also described for the simultaneous identification of these pathogens in different food. Fortuitously, multiplex PCR (mPCR) allows multiple gene analysis of bacteria at the same time in a single reaction tube simultaneously, saving time and reagents.

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