Research Publications (Food Safety)

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and peroxyacetic-acid (PAA) mixer delivered by conventional garden sprayer (GS), electrostatic sprayer (ES) and dip methods to inactivate Listeria monocytogenes on apples.

Our study aimed to evaluate the AFB1 levels in packed rice marketed in Lebanon and determine the exposure to this toxin from the rice consumption. A total of 105 packed white, parboiled and brown rice bags were collected. ELISA was used to measure AFB1. A comprehensive FFQ was filled by 500 participants to determine the patterns of rice consumption and subsequently the exposure levels to AFB1 from the rice consumption in Lebanon. AFB1 was detected in all rice samples (100%).

Food processing environment flooring can become contaminated with pathogens in many ways including foot and equipment traffic, incoming materials, and floor drain backups.  Natural antimicrobial turmeric and commercially available powdered floor treatments may reduce the levels of pathogens on flooring thereby reducing the risk of cross contamination from the floor to food contact surfaces.

Peripheral lymph nodes have been implicated as potential contaminants of ground beef, yet the source and timing of Salmonella lymph node (LN) infection in cattle is still unclear, limiting targeted intervention. Thus, the aim of this study was to leverage the vertical integration of special-fed veal production to identify preharvest environmental exposures, namely livestock trailers or harvest facility holding pens where calves spend 30 min. to 4 hrs, that result in Salmonella LN infection.

Salmonella can be isolated from animal food, ingredients, and animal food manufacturing surfaces. There is limited data regarding the sanitation of animal food manufacturing surfaces. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of nine chemical treatments to reduce Salmonella Typhimurium contamination on various manufacturing surfaces. This experiment was a 9 × 5 factorial with nine chemical treatments and five surfaces.

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), a metabolite of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), is detected in milk obtained from ruminants fed AFB1-contaminated feedstuff. Considering the potential risk of aflatoxin exposure for human health, the AFM1 content in milk and dairy products is regularly monitored. A survey on AFM1 contamination in milk from retail markets consumed in Albania was conducted in 2019–2020.

Vibrio cholerae remains a major public health threat worldwide, causing millions of cholera cases each year. Although much is known about the evolution and pathogenicity of the O1/O139 serogroups of V. cholerae, information is lacking on the molecular epidemiology of non‒O1/O139 strains isolated from patients who have diarrheal illnesses. We performed whole-genome sequence analysis and in vivo infections to investigate characteristics of V.

Across much of the Arctic, lakes and ponds dominate the landscape. Starting in late September, the lakes are covered in ice, with ice persisting well into June or early July. In summer, the lakes are highly productive, supporting waterfowl and fish populations. However, little is known about the diversity and ecology of microscopic life in the lakes that influence biogeochemical cycles and contribute to ecosystem services.

Despite hostile environmental conditions, microbial communities have been found in µL-sized water droplets enclosed in heavy oil of the Pitch Lake, Trinidad. Some droplets showed high sulfate concentrations and surprisingly low relative abundances of sulfate-reducing bacteria in a previous study. Hence, we investigated here whether sulfate reduction might be inhibited naturally.

The potential use of biological agents has become a major public health concern worldwide. According to the CDC classification, Bacillus anthracis and Clostridium botulinum, the bacterial pathogens that cause anthrax and botulism, respectively, are considered to be the most dangerous potential biological agents. Currently, there is no licensed vaccine that is well suited for mass immunization in the event of an anthrax or botulism epidemic.

Immunoglobulin-like (Ig-like) fold domains are abundant on the surface of bacteria, where they are required for cell-to-cell recognition, adhesion, biofilm formation, and conjugative transfer. Fibrillar adhesins are proteins with Ig-like fold(s) that have filamentous structures at the cell surface, being thinner and more flexible than pili.

Cheese represents a dairy product extremely inclined to fungal growth and mycotoxin production. The growth of fungi belonging to Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Claviceps, Alternaria, and Trichoderma genera in or on cheese leads to undesirable changes able to affect the quality of the final products. In the present investigation, a total of 68 types of commercial and traditional Slovak cheeses were analyzed to investigate the occurrence of fungal metabolites.

New polyketide-derived oligophenalenone dimers, bacillisporins K and L (1 and 2) and xanthoradone dimer rugulosin D (3), together with four known compounds, bacillisporin B (4), macrosporusone D (5), rugulosin A and penicillide (6 and 7), were isolated from the marine-derived fungus Talaromyces sp. BTBU20213036.

Campylobacteriosis is a worldwide-occurring disease and has been the most commonly reported zoonotic gastrointestinal infection in the European Union in recent years. The development of successful phage-based intervention strategies will require a better understanding of phage–bacteria interactions to facilitate advances in phage cocktail design.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. The genetic fusion of cytolysin A (ClyA) to heterologous antigen expressed in live Salmonella vector demonstrated efficient translocation into periplasmic space and extracellular medium. Accumulating evidence has shown that clyA-mediated antigen delivery improved growth fitness and enhanced immunogenicity of live vector vaccine, but the factors influencing this protein exportation has not been investigated.

The management of enteric fever through antibiotics is difficult these days due to the emerging resistance of Salmonella to various antimicrobial agents. The development of antimicrobial resistance is associated with multiple factors including mutations in the specific genes.

Quinoa contains rich saponins, which are removed during processing and cause ecological waste. We extracted saponins from quinoa (SEQ) in black, white, and red cultivars and compared their composition by spectrophotometric assay and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis combined with acid hydrolysis. The digestion and fermentation properties of SEQ were investigated using an in vitro model.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is the primary pathogen of chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) in chickens. In poultry production, antibiotics are mostly used to prevent and control MG infection, but the drug resistance and residue problems caused by them cannot be ignored. Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is derived from licorice, a herb traditionally used to treat various respiratory diseases.

Many types of anionic pollutants exit in the aqueous environment including the group containing halogen (F-, I-, IO3-, BrO3-, ClO3−), the group containing heavy metals (VO43−, AsO33−, CrO42−, AsO43−), and eutrophic elements resulting from agricultural, aquacultural, urban and industrial activities (NO3−, PO43−).

Increase in food-borne outbreaks has become public health concern worldwide. Exploitation of the antimicrobial properties of dietary spices has become important pharmaceutical tool for controlling food-borne pathogens. This study aimed at evaluating the antibacterial potentials of Ghanaian spices against Listeria monocytogenes and other prevalent food-borne pathogens. In preliminary studies, Listeria was isolated from some food samples.

Patulin (PAT) is a heat-stable mycotoxin produced by several fungal species belonging to the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus, in damaged or moldy fruits. In this work, TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) were prepared as photocatalysts for the degradation of PAT in simulated juice, by a hydrothermal method coupled with calcination treatment.

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity and nitrogen (N) deposition are two major environmental stresses which can affect plant growth. It’s less clear that how the combined Cd accumulation and N deposition affect the male and female plants of dioecious species. The aim of the present study was to detect sex-specific responses to Cd stress and simulated N deposition in one-year-old male, female and hermaphrodite seedlings of Morus alba.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a major bacterial colonizer and opportunistic pathogen in dogs. Methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) continues to emerge as a significant challenge to maintaining canine health. We sought to determine the phylogenetic relationships of S. pseudintermedius across five states in the New England region of the United States and place them in a global context. The New England dataset consisted of 125 previously published S.

Polymyxin is the “last resort” of antibiotics. The self-induced resistance to polymyxin in Gram-negative bacteria could be mediated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) modification, which is regulated by the two-component system, PhoP/PhoQ. Yersinia enterocolitica is a common foodborne pathogen. However, PhoP/PhoQ has not been thoroughly studied in Y. enterocolitica. In this study, the functions of PhoP/PhoQ in Y. enterocolitica intrinsic resistance were investigated. The resistance of Y.

The Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) is a multiprotein device that has emerged as an important fitness and virulence factor for many Gram-negative bacteria through the injection of effector proteins into prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells via a contractile mechanism. While some effector proteins specifically target bacterial or eukaryotic cells, others can target both types of cells (trans-kingdom effectors).