Research Publications (Food Safety)

Common salt (NaCl) is frequently used by the food industry to add flavor and to act as a humectant in order to reduce the water content of a food product. The improved health awareness of consumers is leading to a demand for food products with reduced salt content; thus, manufacturers require alternative water activity-reducing agents which elicit the same general effects as NaCl. Two examples include KCl and glycerol.

Synthetic genes based on deduced amino acid sequences of the NAD-dependent DNA ligase (ligA) and CTP synthetase (pyrG) of psychrophilic bacteria were substituted for their native homologues in the genome of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis phage type 13a (PT13a). The resulting strains were rendered temperature sensitive (TS) and did not revert to temperature resistance at a detectable level.

Human norovirus (NoV) is responsible for over 90% of outbreaks of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis worldwide and accounts for 60% of cases of foodborne illness in the United States. Currently, the infectivity of human NoVs is poorly understood due to the lack of a cell culture system.

Publication date: Available online 4 September 2015
Food and Chemical Toxicology
Author(s): Richard M. Evans, Martin Scholze, Andreas Kortenkamp

Aerobic spores pose serious problems for both food product manufacturers and consumers. Milk is particularly at risk and thus an important issue of preventive consumer protection and quality assurance. The spore-former Bacillus cereus is a food poisoning Gram-positive pathogen which mainly produces two different types of toxins, the diarrhea inducing and the emetic toxins. Reliable and rapid analytical assays for the detection of B.

In the present study, we investigated the occurrence of yeast flora in a xerophilic environment, the desert region of Namibia, with the aim to isolate the yeast strains with antimicrobial activity toward plant pathogen molds. Using traditional culture-dependent methods, a total of 44 yeast strains belonging to 6 genera and 12 species were isolated.

A starter culture composed of Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus sakei and Staphylococcus xylosus isolated from Chinese-fermented sausages was used to manufacture fermented sausages. The effects of the starter culture on histamine accumulation, nitrite depletion, lipid oxidation and quality parameters including pH, water activity and total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), as well as the color and texture properties, were evaluated.

We assessed the effect of closing live poultry markets in China on influenza A(H7N9) virus detection and viability. Intensive sampling was carried out before, during, and after a 2-week citywide market closure; the markets were cleaned and disinfected at the beginning of the closure period. Swab samples were collected at different sites within the markets and tested for H7N9 by real-time reverse transcription PCR and culture.

Publication date: Available online 1 September 2015

Author(s): JANICE REIS CIACCI-ZANELLA, REJANE SCHAEFER, DANIELLE GAVA, VANESSA HAACH, MAURÍCIO EGÍDIO CANTÃO, ARLEI COLDEBELLA

Publication date: Available online 3 September 2015

Author(s): Geik Yong Ang, Choo Yee Yu, Kok Gan Chan, Kirnpal Kaur Banga Singh, Chan Yean Yean

Publication date: Available online 3 September 2015

Author(s): Chen Zhang, Peihua Niu, Yanying Hong, Ji Wang, Jingyun Zhang, Xuejun Ma

Publication date: November 2015
, Volume 224
Author(s): Deeksha S. Tare, Shailesh D. Pawar

In 2006, a deadly Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak in bagged spinach was traced to California’s Central Coast region, where >70% of the salad vegetables sold in the United States are produced. Although no definitive cause for the outbreak could be determined, wildlife was implicated as a disease vector. Growers were...

Publication date: 2 December 2015
, Volume 214
Author(s): Vida Šimat, Jelena Miletić, Tanja Bogdanović, Vedran Poljak, Ivona Mladineo

Publication date: 2 December 2015
, Volume 214
Author(s): Luana Martins Perin, Barbara Dal Bello, Simona Belviso, Giuseppe Zeppa, Antônio Fernandes de Carvalho, Luca Cocolin, Luís Augusto Nero

Publication date: 23 December 2015
, Volume 215
Author(s): Lorraine Endersen, Aidan Coffey, R. Paul Ross, Olivia McAuliffe, Colin Hill, Jim O'Mahony

Hilo Yen, Nakaba Sugimoto, Toru Tobe

Mass spectrometry has recently become a powerful technique for bacterial identification. Mass spectrometry approaches generally rely upon introduction of the bacteria into a matrix-assisted laser-desorption time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometer with mass spectrometric recognition of proteins specific to that organism that form a reliable fingerprint.

About 1.5(v/v) thyme and clove essential oils were added to 1.5% (w/v) sorbitol-amended whey isolate-based film. These films were used for coating traditional semi-hard kashar cheese (traditional Turkish cheese). Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus microorganisms were selected for the determination of antimicrobial properties of the films by artificial contamination.

Publication date: January 2016
, Volume 111
Author(s): Annalisa Petruzzelli, Andrea Osimani, Marina Pasquini, Francesca Clementi, Vittorio Vetrano, Francesca Paolini, Martina Foglini, Eleonora Micci, Alberto Paoloni, Franco Tonucci

This study was carried out to improve the microbiological safety and shelf life of minimally processed cabbage and carrots at 16CSalad vegetables can be a source of opportunistic pathogens and spoilage bacteria – namely, Aeromonas hydrophila, A. sobria and Pseudomonas syringae.