Research Publications (Food Safety)

The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of neutral pH electrolyzedNEO) water (155 mg/L free chlorine, pH 7.5) in reducing Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium DT 104 on romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and tomatoes washed in an automated produce washer for different times and washing speeds.

Oyster contamination by noroviruses is an important health and economic problem. The present study aimed to compare the behaviors of Norwalk virus (the prototype genogroup I norovirus) and two culturable viruses: Tulane virus and mengovirus.

In a recent paper, we demonstrated that inactivation of the Agr system affects the patterns of survival of Listeria monocytogenes (A.-L. Vivant, D. Garmyn, L. Gal, and P. Piveteau, Front Cell Infect Microbiol 4:160, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2014.00160).

Human norovirus (HuNoV) represents a significant public health burden worldwide and can be environmentally transmitted. Copper surfaces have been shown to inactivate the cultivable surrogate murine norovirus, but no such data exist for HuNoV. The purpose of this study was to characterize the destruction of GII.4 HuNoV and virus-like particles (VLPs) during exposure to copper alloy surfaces.

Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. pectinolytica 34melT can be considered an extremophile due to the characteristics of the heavily polluted river from which it was isolated. While four subspecies of A. salmonicida are known fish pathogens, 34melT belongs to the only subspecies isolated solely from the environment. Genome analysis revealed a high metabolic versatility, the capability to cope with diverse stress agents, and the lack of several virulence factors found in pathogenic Aeromonas.

Because of high diurnal water quality fluctuations in raw municipal wastewater, the use of proportional autosampling over a period of 24 h at municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to evaluate carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus removal has become a standard in many countries. Microbial removal or load estimation at municipal WWTPs, however, is still based on manually recovered grab samples.

The manner and extent to which birds associate with humans may influence the genetic attributes and antimicrobial resistance of their commensal Escherichia communities through strain transmission and altered selection pressures.

The nutritional status of pregnant women is vital for healthy outcomes and is a concern for a large proportion of the world's population. The role of the microbiota in pregnancy and nutrition is a promising new area of study with potential health ramifications. In many African countries, maternal and infant death and morbidity are associated with malnutrition.

Human norovirus (HuNoV) is the leading cause of foodborne illnesses, with an increasing number of outbreaks associated with leafy greens. Because HuNoV cannot be routinely cultured, culturable feline calicivirus (FCV), murine norovirus (MNV), porcine sapovirus (SaV), and Tulane virus (TV) have been used as surrogates. These viruses are generated in different cell lines as infected cell lysates, which may differentially affect their stability.

Glycosylation plays a central role in plant defense against xenobiotics, including mycotoxins. Glucoconjugates of Fusarium toxins, such as deoxynivalenol-3-O-β- d -glucoside (DON-3G), often cooccur with their parental toxins in cereal-based food and feed. To date, only limited information exists on the occurrence of glucosylated mycotoxins and their toxicological relevance.

A series of independent studies were conducted to document the performance of an immersion vacuum cooling (IVC) prototype. Pork hams of commercial size were cured, cooked and then cooled using either a chill cabinet, a chilling room or the IVC prototype. Cooking and cooling losses, temperature profiles and selected product quality properties were compared.

Propolis is a natural product that meets the requirements as functional additive for food packaging due to its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. In this work, ethanolic propolis extract (EPE) was incorporated in cassava starch films, and characterisations with respect to their microstructure, mechanical properties, water vapour permeability (WVP), moisture sorption kinetics as well as antimicrobial and antioxidant capacities were performed.

Gazi Md. Noor Uddin, Marianne Halberg Larsen, Henrik Christensen, Frank M. Aarestrup, Tran Minh Phu, Anders Dalsgaard

Wu Liu, Yutao Chen, Xi Jiang, Ming Xia, Yang Yang, Ming Tan, Xuemei Li, Zihe Rao

HU is one of the most abundant nucleoid-associated proteins in bacterial cells and regulates the expression of many genes involved in growth, motility, metabolism, and virulence. It is known that V. parahaemolyticus pathogenicity is related to its characteristic rapid growth, and that a type III secretion system 1 (T3SS1) contributes to its cytotoxicity. However, it is not known if HU plays a role in the pathogenicity of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Publication date: December 2015
, Volume 52
Author(s): Meenu N. Perera , Tamar Abuladze , Manrong Li , Joelle Woolston , Alexander Sulakvelidze

Publication date: December 2015
, Volume 52
Author(s): Maria Luisa Scatassa , Raimondo Gaglio , Giusi Macaluso , Nicola Francesca , Walter Randazzo , Cinzia Cardamone , Antonino Di Grigoli , Giancarlo Moschetti , Luca Settanni

The objectives of this study were to examine the efficacy of Avishane shiraziAEO) and clove (CEO) essential oils in controlling the microbial growth as well as in inhibiting the lipid oxidation and metmyoglobin (MetMb) formation in ground sheep meat during refrigerated storage. Total mesophilic counts (TMC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts, coliform counts, yeast counts and Listeria counts were determined.

Economic evaluations are critical for the assessment of the efficiency and sustainability of animal health surveillance systems and the improvement of their efficiency. Methods identifying and quantifying costs and benefits incurred by public and private actors of passive surveillance systems (i.e. actors of veterinary authorities and private actors who may report clinical signs) are needed.

This study explores the efficacy of essential oil componentsviz. Z-citral, E-citral, methyl cinnamate and fenchone individually and in combination (1:1:1:1), against food contaminating molds, aflatoxin B1 production and as antioxidant.

Publication date: September 2015
Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 83
Author(s): Loganathan Gayathri , Rajakumar Dhivya , Dharumadurai Dhanasekaran , Vaiyapuri S. Periasamy , Ali A. Alshatwi , Mohammad A. Akbarsha

Phylogenetic analysis of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) virus strains causing outbreaks in Dutch poultry farms in 2014 provides evidence for separate introduction of the virus in four outbreaks in farms located 16–112 km from each other and for between-farm transmission between the third and fourth outbreak in farms located 550 m from each other.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease Jul 2015, Vol. 12, No. 7: 639-643.

Publication date: December 2015
, Volume 52
Author(s): Maria De Angelis , Daniela Campanella , Lucrezia Cosmai , Carmine Summo , Carlo Giuseppe Rizzello , Francesco Caponio