Research Publications (Food Safety)

Fumonisin B1 (FB1), which is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium moniliforme and Fusarium rotarum, has a number of toxic effects in animals. Moldy feed containing FB1 can damage the intestine. In this study, we used intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) as an in vitro model to explore the effects of FB1 on cell cycle and apoptosis.

Salmonella enterica constitutes a global public health concern as one of the main etiological agents of human gastroenteritis. The Typhimurium serotype is frequently isolated from human, animal, food, and environmental samples, with its sequence type 19 (ST19) being the most widely distributed around the world as well as the founder genotype.

Antibiotic consumption is considered to be a main driver of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Mink breeding follows a distinctive seasonal reproduction cycle, and all of the mink produced in the northern hemisphere are bred, born, and pelted around the same time of year. Some of the diseases are age-related, which is reflected in the seasonal variation of antibiotic consumption.

Journal of Food Science, EarlyView. This study aimed at developing predictive models for Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli in lettuce iceberg (Lactuca sativa) locally grown in Taiwan. The models were developed under constant temperature levels (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C) and validated under dynamic temperature conditions (18°C for 4 h, 7°C for 48 h, 23°C for 4 h).

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. The increasing incidence of foodborne illnesses worldwide has become an economic and public health problem. In order to reduce the risks associated with food safety, the Normative Instruction n° 79, 2018, modified the inspection of jowl in pork slaughterhouses in Brazil and requires the submission to validated treatments such as heat or other methods approved.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) is a nonthermal processing technology that can maintain the original color, flavor and nutritional components of food during preservation. In this study, the mechanism of HHP to inactivate Escherichia coli O157:H7 was studied and clarified. Along with the increase of treatment pressure, the total number of viable bacteria decreased significantly (p < 0.05).

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Fungi are significant contaminants and destroyers of spices. This study aimed at determining the mycoflora, mycotoxins, contaminants, and antimicrobial properties of some local spices; dawadawa (Parkia biglobosa), nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), turmeric (Curcuma longa), aniseed (Pimpinella anisum), ocimum (Ocimum basilicum), and clove (Syzygium aromaticum).

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. This study aimed to inhibit the growth of Lacanicillium fungicola (L. fungicola) and improve the quality of button mushroom during a 21-day storage time at 4 °C using treatment of surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial characteristics and anti-biofilm ability of epsilon-poly-lysine hydrochloride (ε-PLH) against Listeria monocytogenes. Minimum inhibitory concentration of ε-PLH against L. monocytogenes was 16 μg mL-1. Scanning electron microscopy showed that ε-PLH damaged the morphology of tested bacterial cells.

Background Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause for morbidity and mortality associated with skin and burn wound infections. Therapeutic options for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) have dwindled and therefore alternative treatments are urgently needed.

by Allison N. Hawkins, Sara J. Licea, Sierra A. Sleeper, Matthew C. Swearingen Calcium sulfate bone void filler beads are fully absorbable in the body, and are often used in complicated orthopedic infection cases to release a relatively high dose of antibiotics locally to the body site over time. However, the antibiotic resistance crisis and/or inability to treat chronic biofilm infections remains to be a formidable and increasing health threat.

Red fermented rice (RFR) is rice fermented using Monascus spp. This product contains monacolin K, providing health benefits including mitigation of diarrhoea and improving blood circulation. RFR can produce pigments that can act as natural colour and flavouring agents. However, Monascus spp. (a fungal starter to ferment RFR) can also produce the mycotoxin, citrinin (CIT) which is believed to have adverse effects on human health.

This study investigated the structure of fungal and bacterial communities in different types of Cd-contaminated soils.

Lysophospholipids (LPLs) are crucial for regulating epithelial integrity and homeostasis in eukaryotes, however the effects of LPLs produced by bacteria on host cells is largely unknown. The membrane of the human bacterial pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is rich in LPLs. Although C. jejuni possesses several virulence factors, it lacks traditional virulence factors like type III secretion systems, present in most enteropathogens.

The dinoflagellate Amyloodinium ocellatum is the etiological agent of a parasitic disease named amyloodiniosis. Mortalities of diseased fish are usually attributed to anoxia, osmoregulatory impairment, or opportunistic bacterial infections. Nevertheless, the phylogenetic proximity of A.

Corallopyronin A (CorA) is active against Gram-positive bacteria and targets the switch region of RNA polymerase. Because of the high frequency of mutation (FoM) leading to rifampicin resistance, we determined the CorA FoM in S. aureus using fluctuation analysis at 4 &times; minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Resistant mutants were characterized. S. aureus strains HG001, Mu50, N315, and USA300 had an MIC of 0.25 mg/L.

One of the most commonly used treatments for acute prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is DAIR (debridement, antibiotics and implant retention), which comprises the debridement and the retention of the implant, followed by antibiotic treatment. The efficacy of DAIR remains unclear, as the literature has demonstrated variable success rates, ranging from 26% to 92%.

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is one of the most dangerous pathogens in the world. Both the cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) and ferric uptake regulator (Fur) are global regulators that control the expression of a great deal of genes involved in a variety of cellular functions in Y. pestis.

Background Shigellosis, traditionally a foodborne and waterborne infection, causes substantial morbidity globally.

In invertebrates, several genes controlled by the Toll and immunodeficiency (IMD) signaling cascade are altered during microbial infection. However, little is known about the expression patterns of innate immune response genes in red-clawed crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus). In the present study, the transcription of five genes was assessed in C. quadricarinatus challenged with Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus).

H2O2 treatment fulfills the requirement of environmentally friendly and safety concerns since it can be easily removed or decomposed into water and oxygen. Even though the high efficiency in detoxifying aflatoxins (AF) in foods by H2O2 was reported by some studies, the information to utilize this reagent for practical application is very limited. This study aimed at investigating the effect of 30 g/hg H2O2 at 50 °C on catalase-inactivated peanuts.

The zearalenone (ZEN) lactonase from Gliocladium roseum (ZENG), possessing high activity but poor thermostability, is insufficient to meet the requirements of the feed industry. In this study, two potential hotspots, S162 and S220 in ZENG, were obtained through molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. In the first round, two mutants including S162P and S220R with increased thermostability were screened.

Coix seed is a minor cereal that has been used as a functional food in the Chinese diet due to its high nutritional value and health effects. These claimed health benefits include antioxidation, anti-cancer, anti-inflammation and enhancing immunological activity. But coix seed is easily contaminated by various mycotoxin, of which aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of major threat to human and animal health.

Dimeric quinoline-based Schiff base was developed (DQS) for the specific detection of Pb2+ ion via fluorimetry.

A new and novel poly(vinyl benzyl dithiocarbonate-dimethyl amino ethyl methacrylate) block copolymer (Pvb-DMA-Xa) as adsorbent was synthesized for the vortex-assisted dispersive solid phase microextraction (VA-DSPME) of patulin from apple products and dried fruits using Uv–visible spectrophotometer. The characterization of synthesized Pvb-DMA-Xa block copolymer was performed with Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) technique.