Research Publications (Food Safety)

Salmonella enterica is a zoonotic pathogen which can readily pass from animal to man through the consumption of contaminated food. The prevalence of Salmonella enterica associated with poultry and poultry meat products has been well-documented and this prevalence has both public health and economic implications. The estimated total cost for nontyphoidal Salmonella is in excess of 14 billion dollars/year in the United States alone.

Campylobacter is one of the leading causes of foodborne illness worldwide and is associated with consumption of poultry products. One potential strategy to reduce Campylobacter colonization in poultry is the use of probiotics. In an attempt to reduce Campylobacter in poultry, we isolated 117 GRAS (generally recognized as safe) bacterial isolates from the ceca of healthy birds and evaluated their efficacy against Campylobacter, using a soft agar overlay technique.

The human gastrointestinal epithelium makes up the largest barrier separating the body from the external environment. Whereas invasive pathogens cause epithelial barrier disruption, probiotic microorganisms modulate tight junction regulation and improve epithelial barrier function. In addition, probiotic strains may be able to reduce epithelial barrier disruption caused by pathogenic species.

The antimicrobial and antioxidant effects of Citrus aurantium L. flowers (Bahar narang) extract (BE; 500, 1,000 and 2,000 ppm) were studied in traditional yoghurt stew during storage at 4C for 28 days. The contents of total phenolics and flavonoids in BE were 81 ± 1.8 and 46 ± 2.4 mg/g, respectively. In vitro antibacterial activity of BE showed that BE had a strong antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus.

The inhibitory activities of salvia and basil essential oils (EOs) against chemical and microbial spoilage in Iranian white cheese were investigated. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration obtained for salvia against Listeria monocytogenes were 0.015 and 0.02%, and for basil were 0.05 and 0.06%, respectively.

In this study, 26 Streptococcus thermophilus phages were classified according to their structural protein patterns and DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism. Furthermore, sensitivities of natural and commercial S. thermophilus strains to S. thermophilus phages were investigated. All the natural strains were found to be resistant to the phages.

The aim of this study was to examine the genetically mediated antimicrobial resistance in 94 coagulase-negative staphylococcal (CNS) milk isolates (buffalo, n = 88, and cow, n = 6), and to determine whether antimicrobial resistance profiles differed between bacterial species. Our analysis of 94 CNS isolates from milk confirmed the well-established multiresistant character of staphylococci in the dairy setting.

Campylobacter have been found in lymphoid tissue of poultry, but the location in these tissues has not been determined. The objective of this study was to determine if Campylobacter are on the outside or on the inside of the spleen. For external (ES) spleen sampling 2 days post-inoculation, each spleen was rinsed with 3 mL of Bolton's enrichment broth (BEB). For internal (IS) spleen sampling, each rinsed spleen was submerged into 70% ethanol for 10 s, removed and submerged into 0.85% saline.

In this study, a detailed phytochemical analysis of the medicinal herb Inula viscosa leaves was performed. Furthermore, in vitro antioxidant and antifungal properties of its methanolic extract were evaluated and compared with the corresponding phenolic profile obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Data obtained underscore the high amount of total lipids (6.14%) in leaves.

With an Escherichia coli O157:H7 virulent bacteriophage, M8AEC16, biocontrol efficiency of phages on a highly risky, ready-to-eat, traditional delicacy food called “raw meatball” under different storage conditions was investigated. Phage, belonging to the Myoviridae family, was isolated from the wastewater of a local slaughterhouse and showed a broad lytic activity toward many E. coli O157:H7 strains with high efficiency of plating and O157 specificity.

Spores of Bacillus megaterium were immobilized on a sensor disk by entrapment method followed by addition of pretreated milk and fluorogenic substrate, i.e., diacetate fluorescein with a response time of about 20 ± 5 min with ≥0.25 μg/L detection limit. Fluorescence was measured semiquantitatively using microbiological plate reader at specific excitation and emission spectra, i.e., 485 and 535 nm, respectively.

The aim of the present study was to investigate chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oil from the leaf of Mentha spicata plant against common food-borne pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, and Escherichia coli O157:H7). Chemical composition of the essential oil was identified by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer detector (GC-MS).

Publication date: February 2016
, Volume 60
Author(s): Shiquan Qian, Hedong Lu, Jing Sun, Chong Zhang, Haizhen Zhao, Fengxia Lu, Xiaomei Bie, Zhaoxin Lu

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), derived from Clostridium botulinum, has been used therapeutically for focal dystonia, spasticity, and chronic migraine. Its spectrum as a potential treatment for neuropathic pain has grown. Recent opinions on the mechanism behind the antinociceptive effects of BoNT suggest that it inhibits the release of peripheral neurotransmitters and inflammatory mediators from sensory nerves.

Publication date: January 2016
Source:LWT - Food Science and Technology, Volume 65
Author(s): Qiumin Ma, Yue Zhang, Qixin Zhong

Publication date: February 2016
, Volume 60
Author(s): S. Belluco, L. Barco, A. Roccato, A. Ricci

Publication date: February 2016
, Volume 60
Author(s): Qianqian Yu, Mengya Niu, Mengquan Yu, Yanhong Liu, Dapeng Wang, Xianming Shi

Publication date: February 2016
, Volume 60
Author(s): Céline Bacigalupi, Aurélie Maurey, Naïma Boutroy, Stéphane Peyron, Sylvie Avallone, Pascale Chalier

Publication date: December 2015
, Volume 52
Author(s): Alexandre Ceugniez, Djamel Drider, Philippe Jacques, Françoise Coucheney

Publication date: December 2015
, Volume 52
Author(s): Pratheeba Yogendrarajah, Frank Devlieghere, Emmanuel Njumbe Ediage, Liesbeth Jacxsens, Bruno De Meulenaer, Sarah De Saeger

Shuzhen Liu, Ligang Jiang, Tao Zhong, Shuhui Kong, Rongbin Zheng, Fengyun Kong, Cong Zhang, Lei Zhang, Liguo An

Mark Achtman, Zhemin Zhou, Xavier Didelot

Publication date: September 2015
, Volume 98, Issue 9
Author(s): D.L. Grooms, B. Norby, K.E. Grooms, E.N. Jagodzinski, R.J. Erskine, L.W. Halbert, J.F. Coetzee, L. Wulf, J.A. Rice

Publication date: September 2015
, Volume 98, Issue 9
Author(s): T. Schmidt, M.M. Kock, M.M. Ehlers

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease , Vol. 0, No. 0.