Research Publications (Food Safety)

Sprout consumption has become more popular due to a new variety of sprouts being introduced to the market. However, sprout seeds are a major source of sprout contamination and have been linked to most sprout-associated foodborne outbreaks.

Diagnosis of botulism caused by multiple serotypes of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is still a challenge due to the lack of a reliable detection method. The present study develops a feasible laboratorial method based on an isotope dilution Immuno-Endopep-MS to detect BoNTs and determine their serotypes and activities in clinical samples. Eleven positive foodborne botulism cases out of a total of 17 suspected cases in China, 2019–2022, were determined by the established method.

Bacterial activities have been demonstrated as critical for protodolomite precipitation in specific aqueous conditions, whereas the relationship between the various hydrochemical factors and bacterial activity has not been fully explored. In this study, biomineralization experiments were conducted using a newly isolated extreme halophilic bacterium from salina mud, Vibrio harveyi QPL2, under various Mg/Ca molar ratios (0, 3, 6, 10, and 12) and a salinity of 200‰.

Chemical composition, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic properties of Actinidia arguta essential oil (AEO) were evaluated. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis identified 56 chemical compounds, with the most abundant being Squalene (23.08%), γ-sitrostorol (8.10%), and β-Tocopherol (7.01%).

This study aimed to investigate the testicular function of Mugil cephalus that inhabit Wadi El-Rayan lakes. Testes of fish inhabiting the upper lake (site 2) and the lower lake (site 3) of Wadi El-Rayan showed significant decreases in gonadosomatic index, high accumulation levels of six metals, and eight organochlorine pesticide residues.

In this study, PBET (Physiologically Based Extraction Test), IVG (In Vitro Gastrointestinal), and SBRC (Solubility Bioavailability Research Consortium) were used to compare the bioavailability of Cd in 10 potato varieties and evaluate the risks to human health. The results show that the dissolved Cd content in the gastric and small intestine phase under the three methods is IVG > SBRC > PBET.

The physical and chemical factors can affect the activities of microorganisms, urease activity, and the removal effect of heavy metal ions. The Bacillus mucilaginosus was cultured and mineralized to remove Cd2+ ions from aqueous solution under different environmental conditions. The effects of time, temperature, pH, volume ratio, and Cd2+ concentration on the mineralization of Cd2+ ions were studied.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Engineered nanoparticles have been explored for their potential to serve as additives to foods, their packages, and contact surfaces because they are stable in a wide range of harsh environments and display inherent antimicrobial properties.

Biochar composites, as a kind of common adsorption and purification materials, are usually prepared by carbonizing biomass firstly and then loading with adsorbent. In this study, an innovative facile one-step pyrolysis-loading process was proposed to synthesize a magnetic high-loading zero-valent iron/biochar composite (BC-ZVI) directly from fresh bamboo immersed with FeCl3 solution.

Many outbreaks involving Salmonella enterica in dehydrated coconut have been reported. Little is known about the survival of S. enterica in dehydrated coconut flakes at common retail or domestic storage conditions. This study evaluated the behavior of a S. enterica cocktail (S. Enteritidis PT4, S. Typhimurium PT4, S. Bredeney, S.

The quality defects of hazelnut fruits comprise changes in morphology and taste, and their intensity mainly depends on seasonal environmental conditions. The strongest off-flavor of hazelnuts is known as rotten defect, whose candidate causal agents are a complex of fungal pathogens, with Diaporthe as the dominant genus.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. CRISPR-Cas system contributes adaptive immunity to protect the bacterial and archaeal genome against invading mobile genetic elements. In this study, an attempt was made to characterize the CRISPR-Cas system in S. coagulans, the second most prevalent coagulase positive staphylococci causing skin infections in dogs.

Molecular Microbiology, Accepted Article. Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive commensal that can also cause a variety of infections in humans. S. aureus virulence factor gene expression is under tight control by a complex regulatory network, which includes, sigma factors, sRNAs, and Two-Component Systems (TCS). Previous work in our lab demonstrated that overexpression of the sRNA tsr37 leads to an increase in bacterial aggregation.

Infections of Toxoplasma gondii can cause severe and sometimes fatal diseases in immunocompromised individuals. The de novo heme biosynthesis pathway is required for intracellular growth and pathogenesis, making it an appealing therapeutic target. We synthesized a small library of derivatives of the herbicide oxadiazon, a known inhibitor of the penultimate reaction within the heme biosynthesis pathway in plants, catalyzed by protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO).

Cerebral malaria (CM) is a serious central nervous system dysfunction caused by Plasmodium falciparum infection. In this study, we investigated the effect of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) inoculation on experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) using Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA)-infected C57BL/6 mice. Live Lm inoculation inhibited the parasitemia and alleviated ECM symptoms.

Chlorine and peroxyacetic acid (PAA) are commonly applied in apple dump tanks and flume systems in commercial fresh apple packing lines; however, little is known about their practical efficacies in dump tank water systems. This study evaluated the efficacies of chlorine and PAA to control Listeria monocytogenes on fresh apples and cross-contamination in simulated dump tank water (SDTW). Efficacies of chlorinated water with initial free chlorine (FC) of 25–100 ppm against L.

A neoteric measure for quantitative assay of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in maize based on an optimized feature model of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was proposed in the work. A portable near-infrared spectroscopy system constructed by the group was employed to collect maize samples with varying degrees of mildew.

In the present study, juvenile striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus), a freshwater fish species, have been chronically exposed to a salinity gradient from freshwater to 20 psu (practical salinity unit) and were sampled at the beginning (D20) and the end (D34) of exposure.

Risk assessment of cadmium (Cd) for human health play a key role because of toxic effect. Researchers are undergoing constant development for modelling approaches to make a risk assessment. It was carried out a central composite design combining with response surface modeling to optimize and modeling of Cd2+ ions in this study. Also, this study was performed to provide information about possible risk associated with alcoholic beverage consumption.

Climate change due to an increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a global issue. It can impact aquatic environments by affecting water flow, pollutant transformation and migration, and other toxicant-related effects. We assessed the interactive effects of temperature warming and pH changes on variations in accumulation of total arsenic (AsT) in the red alga Sarcodia suae at different levels of arsenite (AsIII).

The Big River, in the Old Lead Belt, southeast Missouri, experienced large-scale contamination of channel sediments and floodplain soils from over 200 years of lead mining pollution. Sediments of gravel bars downstream of mining in Big River are contaminated with Pb and Zn and have higher metal concentrations than upstream sites. Plants on these contaminated gravel bars are thus exposed to high metal concentrations and can accumulate metals.

Peat bogs are effective archives of magnetic particles. The diamagnetic properties of organic matter with a zero or slightly negative value of magnetic susceptibility provide an excellent background to even small amounts of magnetic particles associated with anthropogenic activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of the technogenic magnetic particle (TMP) and potentially toxic element (PTE) contamination derived from peat archives of the study area.

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article. In the present study, we report the occurrence of several outbreaks of hepatitis in flocks of young pheasants in France, between 2017 and 2021. The disease was characterized by prostration, apathy and a median cumulative mortality of 12%, with the birds presenting multifocal to coalescing necrotizing hepatitis on necropsy.

Journal of Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. Aims Mathematical models were employed to predict the growth kinetic parameters of F. graminearum and the accumulation of deoxynivalenol (DON) during wheat storage as a function of different moisture contents (MCs) and temperatures. Methods and results The colony counting method was used to quantify F.

As our further research, a series of new 7-chloro-9-methyl-2-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-β-carbolin-2-iums were designed and synthesized. Twelve compounds were found with excellent inhibition activity in vitro on three to five out of six phytopathogenic fungi, superior to standard drugs thiabendazole and/or azoxystrobin. Especially, 18 displayed the highest activity against three out of the fungi and the highest comprehensive activity for all of the fungi.