Research Publications (Food Safety)

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global concern and controlling its spread is critical for the effectiveness of antibiotics. Members of the genus Salmonella are broadly distributed, and wild boar may play an important role in its circulation between peri-urban areas and the environment, due to its frequent interactions both with livestock or human garbage.

Journal of Fish Diseases, EarlyView. Non-motile strains of Yersinia ruckeri, known as Y. ruckeri biotype 2, now dominate amongst clinical isolates retrieved from rainbow trout internationally. Due to an acute increase in the number of yersiniosis cases in Norway in recent years, followed by introduction of widespread intraperitoneal vaccination against the disease, an investigation on the prevalence of Y.

International Journal of Food Science & Technology, EarlyView. This work aimed to evaluate the synergistic effect of petit-high pressure carbon dioxide (p-HPCD) and cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) essential oil (CEO) against Salmonella typhimurium. The results showed synergetic antibacterial activity of p-HPCD and CEO.

Journal of Applied Toxicology, Accepted Article. The relationship between cadmium exposure, exposure-related renal tubular dysfunction, and mortality have been reported, mainly in the residents of Cd contaminated areas in Japan. The aim of this study was to establish the cause-effect relationship between renal tubular dysfunction and cancer mortality in the general population in non-contaminated areas.

In response to the invasion of plant viruses and pathogenic fungi, higher plants produce defensive allelochemicals. Finding candidate varieties of botanical pesticides based on allelochemicals is one of the important ways to create efficient and green pesticides. Here, a series of camalexin derivatives based on a phytoalexin camalexin scaffold were designed, synthesized, and assessed for their antiviral and fungicidal activities systematically.

The N-acetylneuraminic acid−α(2–3)-galactose epitope is often located at the nonreducing terminal ends of glycans on the envelopes of many pathogens, and it is believed that this structure mimics a host’s oligosaccharide so as to circumvent and/or counteract the host’s immune responses.

by Manel Boumegouas, Manjunath Raju, Joseph Gardiner, Neal Hammer, Yehia Saleh, Abdullah Al-Abcha, Apoorv Kalra, George S. Abela Background The interaction between pathogenic bacteria and cholesterol crystals (CCs) has not been investigated. However, CCs are found extensively in atherosclerotic plaques and sclerotic cardiac valves.

Cronobacter sakazakii, a foodborne opportunistic pathogen, mainly affects neonates and infants, with mortality rates of 26.9%. Most outbreaks arise from powdered infant formula (PIF). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and mechanism of 405-nm light-emitting diode (LED) and citral treatment used in combination against C. sakazakii in reconstituted PIF.

Sucrose laurate (SL) is a promising dual-functional additive due to its emulsification and antibacterial activity. However, the knowledge on the antibacterial action of SL against Bacillus cereus was lacking, and thus it was investigated from multiple targets. The antibacterial results demonstrated that the minimum inhibitory concentration of SL was 0.3125 mg/mL, and the time-killing curve confirmed the strong antibacterial activity of SL.

The purpose of this study was to describe the clonal diversity of S. aureus strains derived from healthy dairy cattle and buffaloes as well as their close contact caretakers from the Nile Delta region, Egypt during 2019 and 2020, and to determine their antimicrobial resistance genotypes and virulence determinants.

The emerging hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome (HHS) caused by the novel genotype of fowl adenovirus 4 (FAdV-4) and the infectious bursal disease (IBD) caused by the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) are important avian diseases, both cause huge economic losses to the poultry industry. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an efficient and convenient FAdV-4/IBDV bivalent vaccine to prevent the spread of FAdV-4 and IBDV infections.

To elaborate the molecular mechanism underlying the hepatotoxicity induced by chronic exposure to cadmium (Cd), a mouse model with hepatocyte-specific deletion of Ppp2r1a (encoding protein phosphatase 2 A Aα subunit, PP2A Aα) gene was used to investigate the effect of cadmium exposure on liver injury.

Exposure to cadmium (Cd), a toxic metal, is epidemiologically linked to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in humans. However, the role of Cd in NASH remains to be fully elucidated. This study employed a novel murine NASH model to investigate the effects of chronic low-dose Cd on hepatic pathology and its underlying mechanisms. NASH is characterized by lipid accumulation, extensive cell death, and persistent inflammation in the liver.

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by mold fungi, which commonly contaminate cereal crops. These compounds include zearalenone (ZEA), which may disturb the proper functioning of the endocrine system in mammals. The metabolism of ZEA plays a key role in its toxic properties. The type and amount of produced metabolites may contribute to both the reduction and increase in its pathogenic effect.

It has been established that wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has a higher Cd absorption capacity than other cereal crops causing an excess daily Cd intake and a huge threat for public health. Therefore, the reduction of Cd accumulation in wheat from the soil is a crucial food-security issue.

Iron-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) could oxidize Fe(II) and mediate biomineralization, which provides the possibility for its potential application in arsenic (As) remediation. In the present study, a strain named Ochrobactrum EEELCW01 isolated previously, was inoculated into paddy soils to investigate the effect of FeOB inoculation on the As migration and transformation in paddy soils. The results showed that inoculation of Ochrobactrum sp.

Appearance of drug-resistant microorganisms prompted researchers to unravel new environments for development of novel antimicrobial agents. Culture-supported analysis of heterotrophic bacteria associated with seaweeds yielded 152 strains, in that larger share of the isolates was embodied by Bacillus atrophaeus SHB2097 (54%), B. velezensis SHB2098 (24%), B. subtilis SHB2099 (12%), and B. amyloliquefaciens SHB20910 (10%).

Food contaminants of bacterial or fungal origin frequently contaminate staple foods to various extents. Among others, the bacterial toxin cereulide (CER) and the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) co-occur in a mixed diet and are absorbed by the human body. Both toxins exert dis-tinctive mitotoxic potential.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Tree nuts are important economic crops and are consumed as healthy snacks worldwide. In recent years, the increasing needs for more efficient and effective postharvest processing technologies have been driven by the growing production, higher quality standards, stricter food safety requirements, development of new harvesting methods, and demand to achieve energy saving and carbon neutralization.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. We evaluated combined effects of vacuumed hydrogen peroxide vapor (VHPV) and vacuum-sealed dry heat (vacuum heat, VH) to inactivate foodborne pathogens (Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes) on alfalfa seeds.

Journal of Fish Diseases, EarlyView. DNAzymes have been widely and effectively used for the detection of pathogenic bacteria, which pose a serious public health threat. However, the rapid and cost-effective detection of such bacteria remains a major challenge. In this study, we successfully selected Vibrio alginolyticus-specific DNAzymes.

Journal of Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. Aims To reveal the antibacterial mechanism of the combination of thymol and cinnamaldehyde to Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115 on autoclaved chicken breast. Methods and Results In this study, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115 on autoclaved chicken breast was exposed to the stress of 125 μg/mL thymol and 125 μg/mL cinnamaldehyde, and transcriptome analysis was used to reveal the crucial ant

Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) secreted by Staphylococcus aureus frequently contaminate food and cause serious foodborne diseases but are ignored during food processing and even cold-chain storage. Notably, SEs are stable and resistant to harsh sterilization environments, which can induce more serious hazards to public health than the bacterium itself. Therefore, it is necessary to develop promising strategies to control SE contamination in food and improve food safety.

An immunochemical strategy to detect and quantify AIP-IV, the quorum sensing (QS) signaling molecule produced by Staphylococcus aureusagr type IV, is reported here for the first time. Theoretical calculations and molecular modeling studies have assisted on the design and synthesis of a suitable peptide hapten (AIPIVS), allowing to obtain high avidity and specific antibodies toward this peptide despite its low molecular weight.

A previously conducted national survey of restaurant inspection programs associated the practice of disclosing inspection results to consumers at the restaurant point-of-service (POS) with fewer foodborne outbreaks. We used data from the national Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FDOSS) to assess the reproducibility of the survey results.