Research Publications (Food Safety)

Bacteriophages, bacterial viruses, are now being re-highlighted as one of the promising alternative antimicrobial agents to control bacterial pathogens in various fields, including the food industry. However, wild-type (WT) phages isolated from nature are vulnerable to external stresses such as heat, limiting the usability of phages in thermal processing.

Owing to its high similarity to human hepatitis B virus (HBV), duck HBV (DHBV) is often used as an essential model for HBV research. Although inter-genotypic recombination of HBV is common, it remains unclear whether the inter-genotypic recombination of human HBV is exactly the same as that of DHBV. In this study, 119 serum samples of duck and goose were collected from 51 farms (29 duck and 22 goose farms) in the central and eastern regions of China.

Staphylococci is an opportunistic bacterial population that is permanent in the normal flora of milk and poses a serious threat to animal and human health with some virulence factors and antibiotic-resistance genes. This study was aimed at identifying staphylococcal species isolated from raw milk and to determine hemolysis, biofilm, coagulase activities, and beta-lactam resistance.

Peanuts are susceptible to aflatoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus. Exploring green, efficient, and economical ways to inhibit Aspergillus flavus is conducive to controlling aflatoxin contamination from the source. In this study, Ag-loaded titanium dioxide composites showed more than 90% inhibition rate against Aspergillus flavus under visible light irradiation for 15 min.

Lactobacillus plantarum is known for its probiotics benefit to host, although the effects vary among strains.

Campylobacter jejuni colonizes hosts by interacting with Blood Group Antigens (BgAgs) on the surface of gastrointestinal epithelia. Genetic variations in BgAg expression affects host susceptibility to C. jejuni. Here, we show that the essential major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of C.

Ecological sustainability, productivity, and sensory quality of coffee fruits are important variables for coffee cultivation in agroforestry systems (AFSs). There is an appreciation of the ecological interactions between agricultural crops and native plants in the AFS. Coffea arabica L. is a shrub with geographic origins in the tropical forests of Africa. Thus, the production of coffee in AFSs can be an interesting alternative.

Pesticides have been widely used to control pests and weeds during food production or storage, but when used incorrectly, they can cause damage to human health and the environment. Thus, this study aimed to develop and validate a multiresidue method for the determination of pesticides in potatoes, as well as to evaluate the concentrations in the peel and pulp of the tuber.

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) has direct and indirect repercussions on public health and threatens to decrease the therapeutic effect of antibiotic treatments and lead to more infection-related deaths. There are several mechanisms by which ABR can be transferred from one microorganism to another. The risk of transfer is often related to environmental factors.

Toxigenic members of Aspergillus flavus contaminate cereal grains, resulting in contamination by aflatoxin, a food safety hazard that causes hepatocellular carcinoma. This study identified probiotic strains as aflatoxin detoxifiers and investigated the changes to the grain amino acid concentrations during fermentation with probiotics in the presence of either A. flavus La 3228 (an aflatoxigenic strain) or A. flavus La 3279 (an atoxigenic strain).

High prevalence of livestock-associated methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MSSA and LA-MRSA, respectively) in livestock farms, particularly pig farms, is an increasingly serious threat to food safety and public health. In this study, 173 S. aureus (84 MRSA and 89 MSSA) isolates from healthy pigs, farm environments, and farm workers in Korea were examined to determine the (1) genetic diversity of S.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common foodborne pathogen and spoilage bacterium in meat products. To develop a natural preservative for meat products, this study revealed the antibacterial activity and mechanism of Rosa roxburghii Tratt pomace crude extract (RRPCE) against S. aureus, and applied RRPCE to the preservation of cooked beef.

The antilisterial activity of four strains of bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria has been tested in vitro and in a meat model, as an alternative to reduce nitrite added to fermented sausages. Cell-free supernatants were obtained after bacterial growth under monoculture and coculture conditions, both at 32 °C/16 h and 22 °C/72 h.

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is one of the most common obstetric diseases, and affects approximately 10 % of all pregnancies worldwide. Maternal cadmium (Cd) exposure is one of the factors that may increase the risk of the development of FGR. However, its underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown.

The efficacy of pulsed light (PL) for the surface decontamination of a sliced ready-to-eat cured meat product, salpicão, was studied. The surface of the slices was inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes (107 cfu/g), and then PL treatment was applied. Microbial analyses (L. monocytogenes, coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CNS), Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Enterobacteriaceae) were performed immediately after the treatment.

Introduction

Microbial inoculants can reinvent the value and edible security of cultured sausages. Various studies have demonstrated that starter cultures made up of Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Staphylococcus xylosus (known as L-S) isolated from traditional fermented foods were used in fermented sausage manufacturing.

Methods

Lead (Pb) contamination of planting soils is increasingly serious, leading to harmful effects on soil microflora and food safety. Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are carbohydrate polymers produced and secreted by microorganisms, which are efficient biosorbent materials and has been widely used in wastewater treatment to remove heavy metals. However, the effects and underlying mechanism of EPS-producing marine bacteria on soil metal immobilization, plant growth and health remain unclear.

The goal was to evaluate the effect of phosphorus mining on the endophytic bacterial community of surrounding crops and vegetables and screen beneficial bacteria. [Methods] 16S rRNA sequencing was used to assess endophytic bacterial diversity, community, and metabolic function variations in surrounding plants, including Glycine max, Triticum aestivum, and Lactuca sativa.

Pigs are the most sensitive animal to zearalenone (ZEN) contamination, especially after weaning, with acute deleterious effects on different health parameters. Although recommendations not to exceed 100 µg/kg in piglets feed exists (2006/576/EC), there are no clear regulations concerning the maximum limit in feed for piglets, which means that more investigations are necessary to establish a guidance value.

Nitrate and nitrite salts perform a versatile role in fermented meats, including the inhibition of food pathogens (in particular proteolytic group I Clostridium botulinum). Despite the increasing interest in clean-label products, little is known about the behaviour of this pathogen in response to the removal of chemical preservatives from fermented meat formulations. Therefore, challenge tests with a cocktail of nontoxigenic group I C.

Restriction modification (RM) systems are known to provide a strong barrier to the exchange of DNA between and within bacterial species. Likewise, DNA methylation is known to have an important function in bacterial epigenetics regulating essential pathways such as DNA replication and the phase variable expression of prokaryotic phenotypes. To date, research on staphylococcal DNA methylation focused mainly on the two species Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis.

Background The determination of the microbiological quality and safety of raw milk and the associated influencing factors at the farm level is very critical given that the quality or safety of subsequent products that are further produced depends on this. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the microbiological quality and safety of bulk milk and identify associated risk factors, and assess the presence/absence of S.

A study was conducted to assess the effects of a dietary yeast cell wall (YCW) with and without a Campylobacter jejuni (CJ) challenge.

The purpose was to create a novel composite food preservative for fresh-cut lettuce using flavonoids and chitosan from sea buckthorn leaves (SBL). Sea buckthorn leaves were extracted with ethanol as the extraction solvent and ultrasonic-assisted extraction to obtain flavonoid from sea buckthorn leaf crude (FSL), and then the FSL was secondarily purified with AB-8 resin and polyamide resin to obtain flavonoid from sea buckthorn leaf purified (FSL-1).

Rice is an important grain as a major source of carbohydrates in Asia but contains more arsenic (As) than other grains. A total of 239 rice-based processed foods (rice, n = 30; rice cake, n = 30; porridge, n = 39; noodles, n = 33; bread, n = 20; snack, n = 59; powder, n = 28) were purchased in 2019 from domestic markets to measure total As (tAs) and As species.