Research Publications (Food Safety)

Campylobacteriosis continues to be one of the leading causes of foodborne bacterial zoonotic infections worldwide. Despite its public health importance, the status of this disease in wild birds and the possibility of transmission from wild birds to domestic animals and humans have not been clearly elucidated yet.

Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics can alleviate metabolic syndrome by altering the composition of the gut microbiota. Live combined Enterococcus faecium and Bacillus subtilis has been indicated to promote growth and reduce inflammation in animal models. However, the modulatory effects of live combined B. subtilis R-179 and E. faecium R-026 (LCBE) on human microbiota remain unclear.

Shiga toxins (Stx) are AB5-type toxins, composed of five B subunits which bind to Gb3 host cell receptors and an active A subunit, whose action on the ribosome leads to protein synthesis suppression. The two Stx types (Stx1 and Stx2) and their subtypes can be produced by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains and some Shigella spp.

The internalin family proteins, which carry the leucine repeat region structural motif, play diverse roles in Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) infection and pathogenesis. Although Internalin F, encoded by inlF, was identified more than 20 years ago, its role in the Lm anti-inflammatory response remains unknown. Lm serotype 4b isolates are associated with the majority of listeriosis outbreaks, but the function of InlF in these strains is not fully understood.

Objectives: proving causality between an exposure and outcome can be difficult in humans. Here, we utilize the Bradford Hill (BH) criteria to summarize the causal relationship between Campylobacter infection and the development of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Methods: we utilized the BH criteria to assess the strength, consistency, specificity, temporality, biological gradient, plausibility, coherence, experiment, and analogy of the current evidence linking Campylobacter to IBS.

This present study aims to determine the lowest concentration effects of the assayed different antibiotics; antimicrobial agents alone and their combinations with nisin were investigated to prevent the biofilm formation and break down the biofilm structure of Salmonella.

This study developed a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) procedure for determining seven pyrethroid pesticide residues in tea, cucumber, and tomato via high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS). The overall average recoveries of the seven pyrethroids were 72%–104% (relative standard deviation (RSD); 2.0%–16.1%, 89%–109% (RSD; 0.7%–17.3%), 82%–110% (RSD; 1.6%–17.1%) for tea, cucumber and tomato, respectively.

While mycotoxins are generally regarded as food contamination issues, there is growing interest in mycotoxins as environmental pollutants. The main sources of trichothecene and zearalenone mycotoxins in the environment are mainly attributed to Fusarium infested fields, where mycotoxins can wash off in infested plants or harvest residues. Subsequently, mycotoxins inevitably enter the soil. In this context, investigations into the effects, fate, and transport are still needed.

An accurate, reliable, and specific method was developed for the quantitative determination of fumonisins B1, B2, B3, and their hydrolyzed metabolites, HFB1, HFB2, and HFB3, in broiler chicken feed and excreta using ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The samples were extracted and diluted for the determination of parent fumonisins.

This work aimed to characterize S. aureus isolates from the eyes of healthy and clinically affected equines in the Kafrelsheikh Governorate, Egypt. A total of 110 animals were examined for the presence of S. aureus, which was isolated from 33 animals with ophthalmic lesions and 77 healthy animals. We also investigated the antimicrobial resistance profile, oxacillin resistance mechanism, and the major virulence factors implicated in many studies of the ocular pathology of pathogenic S.

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that causes an important worldwide zoonosis called toxoplasmosis. This infection is often asymptomatic in immunocompetent people. If the infection occurs in pregnant women, it poses great risks to the infant due to its clinical manifestations as mental retardation, seizures, or chorioretinitis. In this study, we evaluated the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against T.

In December 2019, four children of the same school were hospitalized due to severe diarrhea, vomiting, and fever, and the mother of one child was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Escherichia coli O157 NM was isolated from the stool of one child, whereas Campylobacter jejuni isolates were found in feces, raw foods, environmental samples, and tap water.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Volume 46, Issue 2, February 2022.

Evaluate the anti-noroviral efficacy of PURELL® Surface Sanitizer and Disinfectant Spray (PSS; an alcohol-based formulation) using human norovirus GII.4 Sydney [hNoV, by RT-qPCR and human intestinal enteroid (HIE) infectivity assay] and its cultivable surrogate, Tulane virus (TuV, infectivity assay), compared to sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solutions. Methods and Results. PSS efficacy was evaluated in suspension and on surfaces [stainless steel (SS)] using ASTM methods.

Vegetables and fruits may contain pesticides, leading to several health complications after long-term exposure. The food byproducts of soybean and camellia seed cake contain abundant saponins but are poorly utilized. This study aimed to investigate the capacity of soybean byproduct-extracted saponins (SBE) and camellia seed cake-extracted saponins (CSE) to remove pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables.

This study aims to discuss the microbial ecology of the broiler gut environment, Campylobacter prevalence across the broiler production chain with a follow-up focus on a possible mitigation strategy, based on the use of bacteriophages. Scientific literature published from the last two decades was reviewed and data were collected to establish the ranges of Campylobacter loads from different samples.

Listeria monocytogenes remains a significant public health threat, leading to invasive listeriosis with severe manifestations (i.e. septicemia, meningitis, and abortion) and up to 30% of fatal cases. Here, we aimed to investigate genotypic diversity, virulence profiles, antimicrobial resistance patterns from a large and integrated population of L.

Long-term exposure to environmental arsenic has been associated with many chronic diseases, including several cancers, and diabetes. Urinary studies have implicated arsenic speciation as an important risk factor, however, such associations have not been replicated using toenail samples: a relatively new biosample for estimating long-term internal dose-exposure to arsenic.

Fusarium graminearum is one of the primary causal agents of Fusarium head blight (FHB) on wheat and barley. FHB reduces grain yield and contaminates grain with various mycotoxins, including deoxynivalenol (DON). DON acts as a virulence factor to promote the fungus passing the rachis node and spreading throughout the head of wheat but not barley. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are one of the earliest defense responses during plant and pathogen interactions.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global concern, and new approaches are needed to circumvent animal and food-borne resistant pathogens. Among the new strategies, the combination of antibiotics with natural compounds such as essential oils (EOs) could be an alternative to challenge bacterial resistance. The present study evaluates the phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic resistance of 36 Salmonella enterica (16 S. Typhimurium, 3 monophasic variant S. Typhimurium, 8 S. Enteritidis, 6 S.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) belonging to the O26 serogroup represent an important cause of Hemolitic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) in children worldwide. The localization of STEC virulence genes on mobile genetic elements allowed the emergence of clones showing different assets of this accessory genomic fraction.

Although clustering by operational taxonomic units (OTUs) is widely used in the oral microbial literature, no research has specifically evaluated the extent of the limitations of this sequence clustering-based method in the oral microbiome.

Rhubarb, a traditional herb, has been used in clinical practice for hundreds of years to cure constipation, but its mechanism is still not clear enough. Currently, growing evidence suggests that intestinal flora might be a potential target for the treatment of constipation. Thus, the aim of this study was to clarify the laxative effect of rhubarb via systematically analyzing the metagenome and metabolome of the gut microbiota.

Protein secretion is generally mediated by a series of distinct pathways in bacteria. Recently, evidence of a novel bacterial secretion pathway involving a bacteriophage-related protein has emerged. TcdE, a holin-like protein encoded by toxigenic isolates of Clostridioides difficile, mediates the release of the large clostridial glucosylating toxins (LCGTs), TcdA and TcdB, and TpeL from C.

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) cause the potentially fatal neuroparalytic disease botulism that arises due to proteolysis of a SNARE protein. Each BoNT is comprised of three domains: a cell binding domain (HC), a translocation domain (HN), and a catalytic (Zn2+ endopeptidase) domain (LC). The HC is responsible for neuronal specificity by targeting both a protein and ganglioside receptor at the neuromuscular junction.