Research Publications (Food Safety)

Abstract

et al.

Low-moisture foods (LMF) are increasingly implicated in outbreaks of foodborne illness, resulting in a significant public health burden. To inform the development of a new Codex Alimentarius code of hygienic practice for LMF, we applied a rapid knowledge synthesis and transfer approach to review global research on the burden of illness, prevalence, and interventions to control nine selected microbial hazards in eight categories of LMF.

A total of 20 metals (Na, K, Ca, Mg, B, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Sr, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, V, Zn, Al, Cd, and Pb) were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry in muscle and liver tissue from a total of 28 examples of the fishes Mullus surmuletus and Pseudupeneus prayensis marketed in Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain). Significant differences (P < 0.05) in B, K, Mg, Mn, and Na concentrations were found between muscle and liver.

European Union regulations that establish the maximum cadmium (Cd) levels for crab take into account only concentrations found in crab muscle (white meat), mainly from appendages; therefore, other organs and tissues (brown meat) are excluded. The objective of the present study was to evaluate Cd levels in both white and brown crab meat, in order to achieve a more complete assessment of health risk related to human consumption of warty crab.

Cryptosporidium spp., a significant cause of foodborne infection, have been shown to be resistant to most chemical food disinfectant agents and infective for weeks in irrigation waters and stored fresh vegetal produce. Pulsed UV light (PL) has the potential to inactivate Cryptosporidium spp. on surfaces of raw or minimally processed foods or both.

In this work, a SYBR Green I real-time PCR method has been developed for the detection and quantification of Aspergillus carbonarius in grapes by targeting the veA gene with a primer pair (veAF4/veAR4) that specifically amplifies a 91-bp PCR product. The quantification of the fungal DNA was performed by generation of standard curves for two A. carbonarius strains, using spectrophotometrically measured DNA quantities (Log) with a linearity range from 50 to 5 × 10−4 ng of DNA.

This study investigated changes in the microbial composition of microbrewed beer during the manufacturing processes and identified potential microbial hazards, effective critical quality control points, and potential contamination routes.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the microbiological status (mesophilic aerobic microorganism counts) of 68 samples of bulk tank goat's milk and determine the risk associated with the foodborne pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, enteropathogenic and Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli, and Cronobacter sakazakii. Most samples (83.8%) complied with the limits of mesophilic aerobe counts set in the European Union for milk of species other than cows.

Bacteriophages (phages) have been used for biocontrol of Escherichia coli O157 and other pathogenic bacteria in many different matrices and foods, but few studies have included inactivation of residual phages in culture medium before plating and enumeration of surviving host bacteria for the assessment of phage efficacy. This oversight may lead to overestimation of phage efficacy.

Toxoplasma gondii is a global protozoan parasite capable of infecting most warm-blooded animals. Although healthy adult humans generally have no symptoms, severe illness does occur in certain groups, including congenitally infected fetuses and newborns, immunocompromised individuals including transplant patients. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that consumption of raw or undercooked meat products is one of the major sources of infection with T. gondii.

This study evaluated the antibacterial effect of the combination of ɛ-polylysine (ɛ-PL) and nisin against Enterococcus faecalis strains. The combination of ɛ-PL and nisin showed synergistic antibacterial activity against three Enterococcus strains. Scanning electron microscopy and a membrane permeability assay revealed that the combined treatment with ɛ-PL and nisin synergistically damaged the cell morphology of E. faecalis strain R612Z1 cells.

Food is an important dissemination route for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Factors used during food production and preservation may contribute to the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes, but research on this subject is scarce. In this study, the effect of temperature (7 to 37°C) and modified atmosphere packaging (air, 50% CO2–50% N2, and 100% N2) on antibiotic resistance transfer from Lactobacillus sakei subsp. sakei to Listeria monocytogenes was evaluated.

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that causes listeriosis, a relatively rare but life-threatening disease primarily affecting immunocompromised individuals. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in the seafood processing industry in the Republic of Ireland. The occurrence of L. monocytogenes was determined by regular sampling of both food samples and processing environment swabs at eight seafood processing facilities over two calendar years.

Unsafe food handling behaviors are common among consumers, and, given the venue, individuals attending a tailgating event may be at risk for foodborne illness. The objective of this study was to measure the association between Health Belief Model variables and self-reported usual food handling behaviors in a convenience sample of men and women at a tailgate event.

Some Leuconostoc spp. have the ability to produce slime and undesirable compounds in cooked sausage. The objectives of this research were to identify Leuconostoc sources in a Vienna-type sausage processing plant and to evaluate the genetic diversity of the isolated strains.

Microbial spoilage of salmon occurs during extended refrigerated storage and is often accompanied by unpleasant aromas. When spoilage is detected, it is assumed that consumers will reject the product for consumption.

Minor shoot injury significantly (P < 0.05) increased the level at which Salmonella enterica serovar Sofia persisted on cos lettuce in the greenhouse. Initial mean counts of the Salmonella on the injured and uninjured cos lettuce were on the order of 6 log CFU/g. After 3 days, the mean count decreased to 4.8 log CFU/g on the injured plants compared with the significantly (P < 0.05) smaller count of 3.4 log CFU/g on the uninjured plants.

The use of bacteriophages as biocontrol agents to control Salmonella in food production has gained popularity over the last two decades. Previously, our laboratory demonstrated that bacteriophages can be direct fed to limit Salmonella colonization and transmission in pigs. Here, we characterized the bacteriophages in our treatment cocktail in terms of lytic spectrum, growth kinetics, survivability under various conditions, and genomic sequencing.

Studies were conducted to (i) determine whether inoculants of nonpathogenic Escherichia coli biotype I effectively served as surrogates for E. coli O157:H7, non-O157 Shiga toxin–producing E.

Boneless beef rib eye roasts were surface inoculated on the fat side with ca. 5.7 log CFU/g of a five-strain cocktail of Salmonella for subsequent searing, cooking, and warm holding using preparation methods practiced by restaurants surveyed in a medium-size Midwestern city. A portion of the inoculated roasts was then passed once through a mechanical blade tenderizer. For both intact and nonintact roasts, searing for 15 min at 260°C resulted in reductions in Salmonella populations of ca.

Among consumer food handling practices, time-temperature abuse has been reported as one of the most common contributory factors in salmonellosis outbreaks where the evidence is strong.

Produce safety has received much recent attention, with the emphasis being largely on discovery of how microbes invade produce. However, the sanitization operation deserves more attention than it has received. The ability of a sanitizer to reach the site of pathogens is a fundamental prerequisite for efficacy. This work addresses the transport processes of ozone (gaseous and liquid) sanitizer for decontamination of leafy greens.

Fiona Houston, Wilfred Goldmann, James Foster, Lorenzo González, Martin Jeffrey, Nora Hunter