Research Publications (Food Safety)

This study presents epidemiological data on the prevalence of Salmonella spp. and E. coli in bivalve molluscs marketed in Sardinia (Italy). E. coli enumeration and Salmonella spp. occurrence at batch level were used to verify the association between microbiological food safety criteria in place in the European Community.

Frozen reformulated (FR) breaded chicken products have previously been implicated in causing human salmonellosis. A multi-country Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis outbreak involving several strains with >400 reported human cases in the UK occurred in 2020. Initially S. Infantis was detected in one sample from a case home but S. Enteritidis was then also isolated using a S.

Arsenic (As) contaminated mining spoils pose health threats to environmental resources and humans, and thus, mitigating this potential risk is worth investigating.

Catecholamine stress hormones (norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine) are signals that have been shown to be used as environmental cues, which affect the growth and virulence of normal microbiota as well as pathogenic bacteria. It has been reported that Escherichia coli and Salmonella use the two-component system proteins QseC and QseE to recognise catecholamines and so act as bacterial adrenergic receptors. In this study, we mutated the E.

Listeriosis is an emerging bacterial disease of animals and humans worldwide, caused by Listeria monocytogenes. The infected dairy cows continuously shed the microbes in their milk, a human being’s concern. This study was designed to molecular characterize the Listeria monocytogenes isolated from symptomatic cow's milk of tehsils Samundri, Gujar khan, and Alipur of Punjab. A total of 175 milk samples were collected, pre-enriched and cultured on PALCAM agar.

This study investigated the effects of silicon and iron on arsenic absorption, as well as the changes in the physiological indices of rice under arsenic stress and how these indices respond to silicon and iron. We found that application of silicon and iron reduces arsenic absorption in rice; co-application of silicon and iron reduced arsenic content by 25.6%–27.4%.

There is an upward trend of consumption of organic fresh vegetables due to consumer demand for healthy foods without chemical additives. On the other hand, the number of food borne outbreaks associated with contaminated fresh produce has raised, being human norovirus genogroup I (GI), GII and hepatitis A virus (HAV) the most commonly reported causative agents.

Historical underground storage sites for decommissioned capacitors containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were import sources of high-concentration PCB contaminants. However, few studies have delved into the characteristics of these sites. We investigated the wastes and cleaned-up soil, soil PCB contamination, and potential risks of 16 underground PCB-capacitor storage sites in China.

To evaluate the effect of L-Threonine (L-Thr) and Mycofix® Plus (MP) on aflatoxicosis, an experiment with a 3-way ANOVA model was carried out with 8 replicates and 640 birds. Treatments included two levels of L-Thr (100% and 125% of the requirements, Cobb 500, Cobb-Vantress), Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) (0, 500 ppb), and MP (0, 1 g/kg).

High levels of mycotoxin contamination have been reported in various food commodities in Pakistan, however, there has been no exposure assessment study using multiple mycotoxins’ biomarkers. This study aimed to simultaneously assess the exposure to the five major mycotoxins: aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisin B1 (FB1), ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZEN) in a Pakistani population using an integrated approach of human biomonitoring.

Clostridium perfringens is one of the highest prevailing spore-forming foodborne pathogens, which is widely distributed and causes severe disease and outbreaks in humans and animals. Raw meat and poultry are the main vehicles of this pathogen. In this study, we investigated the prevalence, antibiotic resistance pattern, toxin-encoding genes and genetic diversity of C.

Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide distributed zoonotic pathogen that threatens public health. However, there have been limited data for T. gondii infection in wild rats (Rattus norvegicus) in China. In the present study, a total of 227 wild rats were captured from three mink farms to investigate T. gondii infection in Shandong Province, eastern China.

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article. Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogen that can affect multiple host species. Evidence of transmission between humans and animals and among different animal species has been reported in recent years. In this study, we investigated 284 free-living red deer (Cervus elaphus) in the Central Italian Alps to assess the prevalence and molecular characteristics of S.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Foodborne illness outbreaks caused by consuming cantaloupe melon contaminated with Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 are recurrent. The objective of this work was to investigate the antimicrobial effect of the combination of chitosan (Q) and extracellular metabolites of Pediococcus pentosaceus CM175 (EmPp) on the surface of cantaloupe against E.

There have been reports of patients suffering from typhoid fever, particularly those involving infants and immunocompromised patients, which at times present with Salmonella induced brain infection. Although rare, it has frequently been associated with adverse neurological complications and increased mortality.

by M. T. Amin, A. A. Alazba, M. Shafiq The application of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) of MgFe and its composites with biochar of Eucalyptus camdulensis (Eb) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was explored in a batch study to mitigate toxic lead ions (Pb2+) from synthetic wastewater solutions.

Adequate surrogate identification is critical for validating in-plant thermal process controls for Salmonella inactivation in different food matrices. This study compared the thermal inactivation parameters (D- and z-values) and evaluated the heat resistance of Enterococcus faecium (8459) as a surrogate for a 5-serovar Salmonella cocktail in cornmeal.

The objective of this work is to match available phylogenetic information for Bacillus cereus strains with published thermal resistance parameters (D90°C, z) and to use this information to develop refined inactivation models for B. cereus sensu lato. To do so, the thermal resistance parameters were retrieved for 57 strains of B. cereus that could be assigned to a phylogenetic group.

This study investigated the bactericidal effects of plasma-activated acetic acid (PAAA) on Salmonella Typhimurium and its impact on the physicochemical traits of chicken meat. Twenty milliliters of 0.8% (v/v) acetic acid (AA) were treated with plasma (2.2 kHz and 8.4 kVpp) for 30 min. The chicken skins, breasts, and drumsticks, inoculated with S. Typhimurium, were immersed in AA or PAAA and incubated for 10 min.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) continues to be a serious concern to the poultry industry as a bacterial food-borne zoonosis, which generally results in intestinal inflammation and barrier dysfunction or even death. Eugenol is a phenolic compound with various pharmacological activities involved antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects, which is expected to be an effective non-antibiotic therapy.

To explore the effect of Portulaca oleracea polysaccharides (POP) in regulating intestinal microflora in aged rats in vitro, its intestinal microbial composition was analyzed by 16 S rDNA high-throughput sequencing, and the level of short-chain fatty acids in fermentation broth was determined by LC-MS.

Different feeding regimens in infancy alter the gastrointestinal (gut) microbial environment. The fecal microbiota in turn influences gastrointestinal homeostasis including metabolism, immune function, and extra-/intra-intestinal signaling.

The first 1000 days of life are very sensitive to any event that alters health programming, and they represent a window for intervention to improve population health. Pregnant women, fetuses, and infants are particularly vulnerable to exposure to food contaminated with mycotoxins.

Outer membrane (OM) drug impermeability typically associated with a molecular weight above 600 Da and high hydrophobicity prevents accumulation of many antibiotics in Gram-negative bacteria (GNB). Previous studies have shown that ultrashort tetrabasic lipopeptides (UTBLPs) containing multiple lysine residues potentiate Gram-positive bacteria (GPB)-selective antibiotics in GNB by enhancing OM permeability.

Eurotium cristatum is a potential probiotic fungus that is used to enhance Fuzhuan tea quality through fermentation and could reduce obesity by modulating gut dysbiosis. This study aimed to investigate the effects and possible mechanisms of killed E. cristatum (KEC) and its polysaccharides (ECP) in ulcerative colitis (UC) relief. KEC and ECP were administered to mice with dextran sulfate sodium-induced UC.