Research Publications (Food Safety)

mBio, Ahead of Print. The protozoan pathogen Toxoplasma gondii relies on tight regulation of gene expression to invade and establish infection in its host. The divergent gene regulatory mechanisms of Toxoplasma and related apicomplexan pathogens rely heavily on regulators of chromatin structure and histone modifications.

Campylobacter species are the leading cause of bacterial diarrhoea worldwide and consumption of contaminated chicken meat is the most common route of infection. Chickens can be infected with multiple strains of Campylobacter and during the infection cycle this pathogen must survive a wide variety of environments.

International Journal of Dairy Technology, EarlyView. This study is aimed at investigating the molecular prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in raw milk and cheese of different animal species (sheep, goat, cow and water buffalo) in Kayseri Province, Türkiye, to provide a preliminary assessment for contamination risk.

Ensuring a safe and adequate food supply is a cornerstone of human health and food security. However, a significant portion of the food produced for human consumption is wasted annually on a global scale. Reducing harvest and postharvest food waste, waste during food processing, as well as food waste at the consumer level, have been key objectives of improving and maintaining sustainability.

Introduction

Surgical site infection remains a devastating and feared complication of surgery caused mainly by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). More specifically, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infection poses a serious threat to global health. Therefore, developing new antibacterial agents to address drug resistance are urgently needed. Compounds derived from natural berries have shown a strong antimicrobial potential.

Methods

The Caribbean region is a hotspot of biodiversity (i.e., algae, sponges, corals, mollusks, microorganisms, cyanobacteria, and dinoflagellates) that produces secondary metabolites such as polyketides and polypropionates. Polyketides are a diverse class of natural products synthesized by organisms through a biosynthetic pathway catalyzed by polyketide synthase (PKS).

Introduction By adhering to host cells and colonizing tissues, bacterial pathogens can successfully establish infection. Adhesion is considered the first step of the infection process and bacterial adhesion to anti-adhesive compounds is now seen as a promising strategy to prevent infectious diseases. Among the natural sources of anti-adhesive molecules, the membrane of milk fat globules (MFGs) is of interest because of its compositional diversity of proteins and glycoconjugates.

Parasite Immunology, EarlyView. Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite with a global distribution. Heterophil extracellular traps (HETs) are a novel innate immune mechanism of chickens against pathogens, but whether T. gondii can induce HETs release in chickens has not been reported. The effects of T. gondii on heterophils viability were assessed by using Cell Counting Kit-8. T.

Nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. are a leading cause of human gastrointestinal infections and are commonly transmitted via the consumption of contaminated meat. To limit the spread of Salmonella and other food-borne pathogens in the food chain, bacteriophage (phage) therapy could be used during rearing or pre-harvest stages of animal production.

The jujube is one of the most popular fruits in China because of its delicious taste and high nutritional value. It has a long history of usage as an important food or traditional medicine. However, the jujube is easily infected by fungi, which causes economic losses and threatens human health. When the jujube was infected by Aspergillus niger (H1), the changes in nutritional qualities were determined, such as the content of total acid, vitamin C, reducing sugar, etc.

Salmonella is one of the most widely distributed and harmful food-borne pathogens; thus, the rapid detection of viable Salmonella is important for ensuring food safety. In this study, a rapid visual strategy based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) with the addition of thermal inorganic pyrophosphatase and linked with an ammonium molybdate chromogenic buffer was established to detect Salmonella. Specific primers were designed based on the phoP gene of Salmonella spp.

This study identified secondary metabolites produced by Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Penicillium digitatum in fruits of two blood orange cultivars before harvest. Analysis was performed by UHPLC–Q-TOF-MS. Three types of fruits were selected, asymptomatic, symptomatic showing necrotic lesions caused by hail, and mummified. Extracts from peel and juice were analyzed separately.

Bacterial biofilms are a significant problem in the food industry, as they are difficult to eradicate and represent a threat to consumer health. Currently, nanoparticles as an alternative to traditional chemical disinfectants have garnered much attention due to their broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and low toxicity.

Antimicrobial resistance is increasing globally and is now one of the major public health problems. Therefore, there is a need to search for new antimicrobial agents. The food industry generates large amounts of by-products that are rich in bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds, which are known to have several health benefits, including antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.

A dose-response assay in a central composite design platform was conducted to investigate the responses (performance, immunity, and meat quality) of quail chicks to dietary tryptophan (Trp), melatonin (MEL), and N,N-dimethylglycine (DMG) exposed to aflatoxin B1&nbsp

Zoonoses and Public Health, EarlyView. Campylobacter is a major cause of food poisoning and is typically the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the UK. Data collected at broiler farm and abattoir level, for slaughter batches that were sampled for UK-wide monitoring, were used to generate two epidemiological risk factor models.

The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the influence of thermal exposure on Vibrio population and HSP genes expression (HSP 90, HSP70, and HSP20) in rayed pearl oyster (P. radiata). To this end, the oysters were reared for 30 days at temperatures of 22 °C (control), 25 °C, 27 °C, and 29 °C. The results showed that five dominate Vibrio strains including Vibrio hepatarius, V. harveyi, V.

The objective of this study is to explore the antibacterial action modes and virulence-inhibitory effects of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) against Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AITC against vegetative cells of Cp 13124 was 0.1 μL/mL, and the time-kill kinetics analysis revealed that AITC could significantly suppress the growth of Cp 13124.

Aspergillus flavus is a major aflatoxin B1, posing significant health concerns to humans, crops, and producer fungi. Due to the undesirable consequences of the usage of synthetic fungicides, biological control using yeasts has gained more attention. In this study, eight isolates of epiphytic yeasts belonging to Moesziomyces sp., Meyerozyma sp.

Probiotics are live microorganisms with various health benefits when consumed in appropriate amounts. Fermented foods are a rich source of these beneficial organisms. This study aimed to investigate the probiotic potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from fermented papaya (Carica papaya L.) through in vitro methods. The LAB strains were thoroughly characterized, considering their morphological, physiological, fermentative, biochemical, and molecular properties.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Cross-contamination in the poultry slaughtering process can lead to thespread of zoonotic bacteria like Salmonellaenterica. Surfaces of equiptment may facilitate contamination of carcasses due to bacterial adherence and transfer.

In 2022, Poland and Germany experienced a prolonged and extensive mass fish kill in the Odra River. During the period from the end of July to the beginning of September 2022, a high level of incidental disease and mortality was observed in various fish species (dozens of different species were found dead).

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (NanoCeO2) and bentonite (Bent) based nanocomposite (CeO2-Bent) aqueous sensor drop casted on paper substrate has been used to detect food borne Aflatoxins (AFs) by Curcumin (Cur) functionalized redox reaction mediated colorimetric detection. Optical studies reveal that when chromophore-like Cur is first added to Nano CeO2/Bent, it creates a chelate complex that serves as a mediator for enhanced binding with AFs.

Salmonella is a major cause of food poisoning, and its infection and antimicrobial resistance vary regionally due to different sanitary standards and the use of antimicrobials. The aim of this study is to evaluate the microbiological contamination and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in Shanghai, providing references for supervision over food safety and clinical treatment.

Journal of Food Science, EarlyView. We investigated the occurrence of 80 pesticide residues in 96 honey samples from apiaries with honeybee poisoning incidences by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and subsequently conducted risk assessments of exposure for in-hive honeybees and Chinese consumers. Six pesticides were detected with residue concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 130.9 µg/kg.