Research Publications (Food Safety)

Cronobacter species are foodborne pathogens associated with neonatal meningitis, sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis through consumption of contaminated powdered milk. However, there are no specific targets used for differentiating Cronobacter species. The DNA-based assay and polyphasic analysis have facilitated the detection and typing of Cronobacter species in foodborne outbreaks. In this study, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and dot hybridization for detecting Cronobacter spp.

Following a large outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 infection in 2012, the prerequisite program for the production of pickles in Japan was revised to include disinfection with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO). Here, we examined the indicator bacterial counts, incidence of STEC and Salmonella spp.

Publication date: Available online 16 April 2015 Food Bioscience Author(s): Idrees Ahmed Wani , Arif Ali Wani , Adil Gani , Sabeera Muzaffar , Mohammad Khalid Gul , Farooq Ahmad Masoodi , Touseef Ahmad Wani Flour prepared from wild arrowhead tubers was treated by gamma-irradiation at 0, 5, 10 and 15kGy doses. Chemical composition of native flour revealed moisture, protein, fat and ash contents were 8.55g/100g, 15.62g/100g, 6.01g/100g and 3.91g/100g, respectively.

Nana Su, Yanwu Lu, Qi Wu, Yuanyuan Liu, Yan Xia, Kai Xia, Jin Cui Raphanus sativus L. cv. Yanghua sprouts are rich in health‐promoting anthocyanins; thus hypocotyls show a red color under light. In this study, effects of UV‐B irradiation at 5 W m−2 on anthocyanin biosynthesis in the hypocotyls of radish sprouts were investigated.

Sarah A. Jung, Christine A. Chapman, Wai-Leung Ng

Publication date: Available online 15 April 2015
Food and Chemical Toxicology
Author(s): Davi Felipe Farias , Martônio Ponte Viana , Gustavo Ramos Oliveira , Vanessa Olinto Santos , Clidia Eduarda Moreira Pinto , Daniel Araújo Viana , Ilka Maria Vasconcelos , Maria Fátima Grossi-de-Sa , Ana Fontenele Urano Carvalho

Response surface methodology was applied to investigate the combined effect of apple skin polyphenolsASP), acetic acid (AA), oregano essential oil (O) and carvacrol (C) on the inactivation of Salmonella on sliced cooked ham. A full factorial experimental design was employed with control variables of ASP (0–10%), AA (0–4%), O (0–0.6%) and C (0–0.8%).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation1, 2 and 3 kGy) on the bacteriological quality and sensory perception of refrigerated raw whole milk. Moreover, physiochemical and bacteriological parameters were monitored during 60 days of storage at 4C. All of the irradiated samples, mainly 2 and 3 kGy, exhibited a lower (P < 0.05) bacterial load than the nonirradiated samples.

Publication date: Available online 13 April 2015
Food and Chemical Toxicology
Author(s): Marta Mesías , Francisco J. Morales

Second messengers are key components of many signal transduction pathways. In addition to cyclic AMP, ppGpp, and cyclic di-GMP, many bacteria use also cyclic di-AMP as a second messenger. This molecule is synthesized by distinct classes of diadenylate cyclases and degraded by phosphodiesterases. The control of the intracellular c-di-AMP pool is very important since both a lack of this molecule and its accumulation can inhibit growth of the bacteria.

In chickens, the effect of mycotoxins, especially fumonisins (FB), in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is not well documented. Thus, this study in broiler chicks determined the effects of consuming diets prepared with Fusarium verticillioides culture material containing FB on intestinal gene expression and on the sphinganine (Sa)/sphingosine (So) ratio (Sa/So; a biomarker of FB effect due to disruption of sphingolipid metabolism).

This paper investigated the effect of air-frying technologyin combination with a pretreatment based of soaking the samples in different chemical agent solutions (citric acid, glycine, calcium lactate, sodium chloride, or nicotinic acid [vitamin B3]), on the generation of acrylamide in fried potatoes. The influence of reducing sugars on the development of surface's color was also analyzed.

A real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RealAmp) assay for the detection of Listeria was developed. The RealAmp assay, using primers specific for the hemolysin-encoding hlyA gene, was verified using Listeria monocytogenes strains (n = 58) from different regions of the world. Both the sensitivity and specificity of the RealAmp assay were high. The RealAmp assay could detect 103 CFU ml−1 within 30 min.

In this study, a duplex qPCR assay was developed for the needs of the Irish fish industry to screen for the two major food-borne pathogens of fish, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7. The assay can claim positive or negative results for two pathogens in one go in only 20 hours including 16 hour universal pre-enrichment and compared to traditional ISO approved plate culture methods the labor and the cost involved in testing of one sample is reduced to minimum.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by toxigenic fungi contaminating foods and feeds in pre-, post-harvest and processing, and represent a great concern worldwide, both for the economic implications and for the health of the consumers. Many environmental conditions are involved in the regulation of mycotoxin biosynthesis.

Ochratoxins are a mycotoxin family frequently found in agricultural commodities worldwide and pose a potential health risk to humans and animals. To obtain large amounts of high-purity ochratoxins for food safety monitoring and toxicological research, a novel and effective method was established for simultaneous purification of ochratoxin A (OTA) and ochratoxin B (OTB) from a wheat culture inoculated with an ochratoxin-producing Aspergillus strain.

Autotransporters are a superfamily of virulence factors secreted by Gram negative bacteria. They are comprised of an N-terminal passenger domain that is translocated across the outer membrane, and a C-terminal domain that inserts into the outer membrane forming a β-barrel anchor. It is still poorly understood how the passenger is efficiently translocated in the absence of external energy inputs.

An exoprotease of Vibrio vulnificus, VvpS, exhibits an autolytic function during the stationary phase. To understand how vvpS expression is controlled, the regulators involved in vvpS transcription and their regulatory mechanisms were investigated. LeuO was isolated in a ligand-fishing experiment, and experiments using a leuO-deletion mutant revealed that LeuO represses vvpS transcription. LeuO bound the extended region including LeuO-binding site (LBS)-I and LBS-II.

Publication date: 15 October 2015
, Volume 185
Author(s): Sara Costa , Cláudia Afonso , Carlos Cardoso , Irineu Batista , Nádia Chaveiro , Maria Leonor Nunes , Narcisa Maria Bandarra

Publication date: 15 October 2015
, Volume 185
Author(s): Hui Huang , Yongxin Li , Jintong Liu , Jin Tong , Xingguang Su

Publication date: Available online 11 April 2015

Author(s): Xiao Mi , Jie Yang , Lichao Cao , Xiaofeng Wei , Ying Zhu , Qiyuan Li , Xiaopan Liu , Xuheng He , Qiuyan Liao , Zhixiang Yan

Publication date: October 2015
, Volume 56
Author(s): Panneerselvam Rajapandiyan , Wei-Li Tang , Jyisy Yang

Publication date: October 2015
, Volume 56
Author(s): Sudarsan Mukhopadhyay , Dike O. Ukuku , Vijay K. Juneja

Publication date: October 2015
, Volume 56
Author(s): Qinqin Hu , Xiahong Xu , Yingchun Fu , Yanbin Li

Publication date: 16 July 2015
, Volume 205
Author(s): Josué Delgado , Raquel Acosta , Andrea Rodríguez-Martín , Elena Bermúdez , Félix Núñez , Miguel A. Asensio